City Express | Enlighten Me

A scene of the crime: pull boxes destroyed and electrical wires pulled out and cut in search of copper to scrap.

We still need your continued help when it comes to reporting any suspicious activity around streetlights and storm drains and other public facilities.

Thieves are continuing to plague the City, leaving some 224 neighborhoods in the dark after ripping out copper wire for resale. At least two to three new sites are reported to the City's 311 per day, leaving a wait time of three to four months for streetlights to go back on in the neighborhood.

The City spent some $350,000 in 2011 on staff time, contractor time and replacement wire. Transportation officials are asking City Council this month to approve spending up to $470,000 to purchase hundreds more new locking pull box lids.

The public is encouraged to phone police if they believe a crime is in progress. Any activity involving tampering with a street light would be performed by a City employee driving a truck with the City seal or a contract employee driving a truck with “City of Sacramento” on it. Report street lights out to our 311 service via email, or call 311 within the City limits.

The Department of Utilities will present a proposed rate increase for water and sewer rates to the Sacramento City Council on Tuesday, March 13, at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, New City Hall, 915 I Street. The public is encouraged to attend, learn about the proposal and share their comments.

If approved, the proposed increases would take effect on July 1, after which rates will increase each year for three years for water and wastewater services. The Department plans to use these increases to replace aging water and sewer lines, rehabilitate the Sacramento River Water Treatment Plant (built in 1923 and still in operation today) and comply with regulations, such as installing water meters on more than 50,000 homes in the City of Sacramento and investing in the City’s Combined Sewer System.

Below is an example of how a typical monthly bill would increase by dollars and cents.

Proposed Typical Single-Family Customer Monthly Bill(1)

Just because we have had a dry winter thus far, you need not run out and turn on your sprinklers. Follow these four simple tips to help spare the water and reduce your usage, and possibly even your water bill.

• Before turning on your irrigation system, check the soil to see and feel if it is still moist by using a garden trowel or shovel to dig down about three to six inches. If the soil is dry several inches or more below the surface, water the landscape on Saturday or Sunday, in accordance with City Code.

• Apply the “cycle and soak” method, which means to water your landscape on that one day and let the water soak into the soil for about an hour. Then use a trowel or shovel again to check the soil moisture. If the soil is moist to a depth of three inches or so, you’ve watered enough. If the soil is only moist down to a depth of an inch or two, you may need to irrigate a little longer.

• Some types of lawns are dormant in the winter. While they may look brown, it will not help to water them in winter months. Understand that if you have the type of lawn that is dormant in the winter, it will not likely need supplemental water.

• Remember! Once the rains returns, remember to turn the irrigation system off again.

Also, remember that overwatering combined with freezing temperatures can create ice and safety hazards in our community! Help keep your neighbors safe and do not overwater your lawn and have water running down the sidewalks and into gutters! One more thing to note, the winter watering schedule switches back to the spring schedule on March 11.

For more water conservation information, please visit SpareSacWater.org.

The City’s Reverse 911® System been upgraded. You can now register your cell or Voice over IP (VoIP) phone to receive Reverse 911 Emergency Updates.

The system is an emergency community notification tool designed to inform residents and business owners of significant incidents occurring in a geographical area within the City.

When you register your VoIP or cell phone, you can include an address so you are phoned when there is information about emergencies in your neighborhood or near where you work. Our Reverse 911 system has been used for neighborhood emergencies where health and safety is a concern such as evacuation notices, at-risk missing person notifications, crime series, and much more. Register today here.

Every year, the City invites residents and those working in Sacramento to complete a web-based survey to provide input on living and working here. You’re encouraged to take this survey and answer questions like: “If you were to send a postcard to a friend with snapshots of the City of Sacramento, what would you send a snapshot of?”

Fun aside, the survey results will be used as part of the city's 2030 General Plan annual report that will be presented to City Council to help develop policy, establish future priorities and give staff direction on how to implement projects and programs. Hurry, complete the survey here by Thursday, Feb. 16.