The Swarm

Really, is there any justification left to start charging the "crash tax" on out-of-towners starting Friday?

A slim majority on the Sacramento City Council voted last month to begin charging nonresident motorists for the cost of fire department response. They have consistently defended their decision by saying that the city had to come up with cash and had few options left.

But Wednesday, the city's Fire Department announced that it will receive a $5.6 million federal grant -- enough to hire 27 firefighters and restore two fire companies that had been browned out (taken out of service on a rotating basis). The cash infusion will improve response times throughout the city.

It should also cause council members to rethink the need for the "crash tax" since it would only raise $300,000 to $500,000 a year -- and that estimate may be a stretch. It certainly won't offset the damage the new fee has already done to Sacramento's reputation and its relations with its neighbors, and will continue to do if the fee stays in place.

The Bee's editorial board has consistently opposed the "crash tax" as an ill-advised way to boost the city's budget.

Once again, the next step is up to the Rio Linda water district board -- and the question is whether it will act responsibly.

Wednesday evening, the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission voted to urge the board to accept temporary managerial help - most likely from the Sacramento Suburban Water District - to get the district's finances in order.

It was a small, but necessary move.

The district is under a state public health order to improve its system, but its financial condition is precarious. A recent independent audit raised the question whether it can survive. The new board is proposing a rate increase to obtain a $7.5 million state loan to build three new wells.

Meanwhile, there are allegations of misuse of public money and an investigation by the Sacramento County District Attorney's office, as well as continued infighting on the district board, after voters elected a new majority of three members in November.

LAFCO has oversight over the district, but says its control is limited without another public agency willing to take over the district. With all the financial uncertainty, everyone is extremely wary of getting involved.

Until there's a resolution, the 15,000 residents who rely on the district for drinking water and water for fire protection don't have a guarantee of adequate service.

It's not as independent as the citizens committee that will draw California's new congressional and legislative districts this year.

But given the limited time and complicated politics, the citizens advisory panel that the Sacramento City Council agreed to form Tuesday night to help with the city's redistricting was probably the most that could have been expected.

The panel will include 13 members -- Mayor Kevin Johnson and the eight council members will each appoint one, then the council's personnel committee would nominate four at-large members to the full council. Anyone can apply, but several council members said they would be looking for particular expertise and suggested that representatives from good government groups such as the League of Women Voters and Common Cause would likely be picked.

The council would keep the final say over the new council districts, which would be used for the first time in 2012. Any resident or community group could still submit maps. The advisory committee will review and analyze submissions, identify key issues and recommend the maps it believes would be best for the city. Possibly, it could come up with one of its own, combining elements of others.

Council members supporting the panel said it would help the process, increase citizen involvement and just perhaps mean a fairer redistricting.

New council member Jay Schenirer argued that it will help rebuild public trust, which he said was essential to moving the city forward.

But new Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, the lone dissenter in the 8-1 vote Tuesday night, said she opposed the advisory panel because redistricting is the council's job and she wants direct input, unfiltered at all by another layer.

Her district, District 1, will have to be changed significantly, largely because uneven population growth has grown its population to nearly double the size of four other districts.

The council plans to formally create the advisory panel with a resolution next Tuesday.