Johnson Calls for Tougher, Smarter Approach to Fighting Crime

SACRAMENTO -- At a downtown fire station idled because of Mayor Heather Fargo’s budget cutbacks, Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson was joined by city law enforcement officials today to blast a hastily-drafted proposal authored by Fargo to make Sacramento’s sales tax the highest in the region. He called for a “tougher, smarter” crime-fighting approach instead.

“Mayor Fargo’s ‘ready – fire – aim’ approach to reducing crime is exactly that what’s wrong with her leadership,” said Johnson, who was joined by former Sacramento County Sheriff Craig and Sacramento Police Officers Association Vice President Mark Tyndale. “Sadly, the Mayor seems more concerned about doing something swiftly for political cover rather than doing the right thing for our kids, law enforcement, and taxpayers.

“This hastily-drafted proposal to blindly raise our city’s sales tax to 8 percent for 30 years would make Sacramento an island of high taxes,” he continued. “It is a regressive tax proposal will hit our lowest-income citizens hardest – families that are getting whacked by a double-whammy of rising gas and food prices.”

As Mayor, Johnson said he would make public safety “Job One,” and outlined recommendation changes to the ordinance and a new mindset to approaching the issue. He also lamented the closing of fire stations and the Mayor’s failure to show leadership on public safety issues.

“Public safety cutbacks ordered by Mayor Fargo mean that for the next 48-hours, there will be no fire engine staffing for one company at this station,” said Johnson. “This is what Mayor Fargo calls ‘progress.’ I call it shameful.”

Johnson noted that under Mayor Fargo, Sacramento spends just 51 percent of its budget on public safety. That compares that with two cities of near equal population – Long Beach and Fresno – which spend 64 and 74 percent, respectively – of their general funds on public safety.

For police alone, Sacramento is even further behind. Sacramento spends just 30 percent of our budget on law enforcement. Long Beach spends 46.5 percent and Fresno 55 percent.

“Now Mayor Fargo wants to throw the political dice and possibly force another $12 million in cutbacks with a gambit designed for political posturing rather than public safety.”

Since Mayor Fargo has been in office, violent crime has jumped 55 percent.

The Sacramento Police Department reported last week that murders have skyrocketed a jarring 32 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period the year before.

“Incredibly, Mayor Fargo downplays the issue,” said Johnson. “But the stark reality is that the streets of Sacramento are as dangerous as those of Oakland and Los Angeles, according to FBI statistics.”

Johnson noted Fargo’s new tax is in addition to another proposed by the Mayor – to tax telecommunications services – that is headed for the November ballot.

“Putting two tax sales increases on the ballot – both of which need a two-thirds majority -- is a political crapshoot,” he said. “If it the telecommunications tax fails, it means another $12 million in cuts that we cannot afford.”

Johnson also criticized Fargo for rushing the document on the city council’s agenda. “No citizen, city council member, educator, nor community activist – or any member of the press for that matter – will see the fine print of the Mayor’s latest proposal until today.

“It is unfathomable that the Mayor is trying to ram through a proposed not supported by the men and women of law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect us,” he said.

Johnson called for the crafting of a new plan that would get buy-in from community leaders, law enforcement, church groups, and young people instead of adopting a proposal that was not passed at the county level.

    •    Law enforcement’s share of the funds shouldn’t be 30 or 40 percent. They should be, at the bare minimum 50 percent, and ideally, 60 or 70 percent;

    •    The tax should sunset in a far shorter period of time, 5 or 10 years, not 30;

    •    The grants we provide to social service programs should be leveraged by requiring a 1-to-1 match, either with state or private sector funding, so we get a bigger bang for our tax buck.

    •    There needs to be beefed up auditing and accountability provisions to make sure the prevention programs we’re funding are making a difference and aren’t just feel-good.

“We need a plan that doesn’t handcuff our city’s economy, because nothing stops a bullet like a job,” said Johnson. “That’s why we need a comprehensive, thoughtful strategy to crime-fighting -- not an ineffective political fig leaf with no promise of results."