Government of Sacramento, California

Last updated
Government of the
City of Sacramento
Seal of Sacramento, California.png
Seal of Sacramento
FormationFebruary 27, 1850;173 years ago (1850-02-27)
City charterSacramento City Charter
Website cityofsacramento.gov
Legislative branch
Legislature Sacramento City Council
Meeting place Sacramento City Hall
Executive branch
Mayor Darrell Steinberg
Appointed by Election
Sacramento City Hall Sacramento City Hall.jpg
Sacramento City Hall

The Government of Sacramento operates as a charter city (as opposed to a general law city) under the Charter of the City of Sacramento. The elected government is composed of the Sacramento City Council with 8 city council districts and the Mayor of Sacramento, which operate under a manager-council government. In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the City Manager, Sacramento Police Department (SPD), the Sacramento Fire Department (SFD), Community Development Department, City Clerk, City Attorney, and City Treasurer. Since 2016, the mayor has been Darrell Steinberg and the current councilors were Angelique Ashby, Sean Loloee, Jeff Harris, Katie Valenzuela, Jay Schenirer, Eric Guerra, Rick Jennings II, and Mai Vang.

Contents

Organization

Mayor

The Mayor of Sacramento is the presiding officer of the city, [1] and is elected for a four-year term. [2] Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan. [3] The 56th and current Mayor is Darrell Steinberg.

City Council

The Sacramento City Council is the governing body of the City of Sacramento. The council is composed of eight members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. [4] [5] The council members as of March 16, 2021 were: [6]

Departments

The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) polices the city of Sacramento.

The Sacramento Fire Department (SFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for Sacramento.

The Community Development Department is responsible for property development application review, building permits and inspections, code compliance, and long-range planning.

Law

The Charter of the City of Sacramento is the founding document of the Sacramento government. Pursuant to the charter, all legislative power is vested in the Council and is exercised by ordinance. Pursuant to this power, the Council has caused to be promulgated the Sacramento City Code , consisting of codified regulatory and penal ordinances. Every act prohibited or declared unlawful, and every failure to perform an act required, by the ordinances are misdemeanor crimes, unless otherwise specified as infractions. [7]

Other governments

California

The Sacramento County Superior Court, which covers the entire county, is not a County department but a division of the State's trial court system. Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county Board of Supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state.

Sacramento County

Sacramento is also part of Sacramento County, for which the Government of Sacramento County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Sacramento. [8] Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of Sacramento County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. The County government is primarily composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices including the Sheriff, District Attorney, and Assessor, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the County Executive Officer.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honolulu City Council</span> City council in Honolulu, HI

Honolulu City Council is the legislature of the City and County of Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawai'i, the fiftieth state in the United States. The City and County of Honolulu is a municipal corporation that manages government aspects traditionally exercised by both municipalities and counties in other states. Each of the nine members of its city council is elected to a four-year term and can serve no more than two consecutive terms. Council members are elected by voters in nine administrative districts that, since 1991, are reapportioned every ten years. Like the Honolulu mayor, members of the city council are elected via nonpartisan elections.

In the United States, a charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than solely by general law. In states where city charters are allowed by law, a city can adopt or modify its organizing charter by decision of its administration by the way established in the charter. These cities may be administered predominantly by residents or through a third-party management structure, because a charter gives a city the flexibility to choose novel types of government structure. Depending on the state, all cities, no cities, or some cities may be charter cities.

A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council, village council, or board of aldermen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Detroit</span>

The government of Detroit, Michigan is run by a mayor, the nine-member Detroit City Council, the eleven-member Board of Police Commissioners, and a clerk. All of these officers are elected on a nonpartisan ballot, with the exception of four of the police commissioners, who are appointed by the mayor. Detroit has a "strong mayoral" system, with the mayor approving departmental appointments. The council approves budgets, but the mayor is not obligated to adhere to any earmarking. The city clerk supervises elections and is formally charged with the maintenance of municipal records. City ordinances and substantially large contracts must be approved by the council.

The Government of Denver makes up the public sector of the City and County of Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of San Francisco</span> Overview of the government of San Francisco

The government of the City and County of San Francisco utilizes the "strong mayor" form of mayoral/council government, composed of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, several elected officers, and numerous other entities. It is the only consolidated city-county in California, and one of only thirteen charter counties of California. The fiscal year 2019–20 city and county budget was approximately $12.3 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacramento City Council</span> City council; lawmaking body of the Sacramento City, USA

The Sacramento City Council is the governing body of the city of Sacramento, California. The council holds regular meetings at Sacramento City Hall on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm, with exceptions for holidays and other special cases.

The government of Virginia combines the executive, legislative and judicial branches of authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The current governor of Virginia is Glenn Youngkin. The State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson, and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. Virginia currently functions under the 1971 Constitution of Virginia. It is Virginia's seventh constitution. Under the Constitution, the government is composed of three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial.

Local government in Pennsylvania is government below the state level in Pennsylvania. There are six types of local governments listed in the Pennsylvania Constitution: county, township, borough, town, city, and school district. All of Pennsylvania is included in one of the state's 67 counties, which are in total subdivided into 2,560 municipalities. There are currently no independent cities or unincorporated territories within Pennsylvania. There is only one incorporated town in Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local government in California</span>

California has an extensive system of local government that manages public functions throughout the state. Like most states, California is divided into counties, of which there are 58 covering the entire state. Most urbanized areas are incorporated as cities, though not all of California is within the boundaries of a city. School districts, which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education. Many other functions, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts, which include municipal utility districts, transit districts, health care districts, vector control districts, and geologic hazard abatement districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Los Angeles County</span>

The Government of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Los Angeles County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, health care, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Los Angeles</span> Executive branch of Los Angeles politics

The government of the City of Los Angeles operates as a charter city under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The elected government is composed of the Los Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and the mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor–council government, as well as several other elective offices. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan. The current mayor is Karen Bass, the current city attorney is Hydee Feldstein Soto and the current city controller is Kenneth Mejia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of San Diego County, California</span> County government

The Government of San Diego County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of San Diego. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of San Diego County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Alameda County, California</span>

The government of Alameda County, California, is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Alameda. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of Alameda County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. County services are provided to residents by more than 9,000 employees working in 21 different agencies and departments with an annual budget expenditure of $2.4 billion.

The Government of Sacramento County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Sacramento. Much of the government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Sacramento County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of San Joaquin County, California</span>

The Government of San Joaquin County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of San Joaquin County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judiciary of California</span>

The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts. The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the California Supreme Court at the top, California Courts of Appeal as the primary appellate courts, and the California Superior Courts as the primary trial courts.

The Government of Solano County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Solano County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

The Government of Fresno County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, law, and the Charter of the County of Fresno. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Fresno County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Stanislaus County, California</span>

The Government of Stanislaus County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Stanislaus County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

References

  1. Sacramento City Charter, Article IV, § 40
  2. Sacramento City Charter, Article IV, § 43
  3. California Constitution, Article II, Section 6 Archived 2010-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Sacramento City Charter, Article III, § 22
  5. Sacramento City Charter, Article III, § 26
  6. "Find Your District - City of Sacramento".
  7. California Government Code § 36900 et seq.
  8. California Government Code § 23004