government of Sacramento County, California
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Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...
is defined and authorized under the California Constitution,
California law The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the Calif ...
, and the Charter of the County of Sacramento. Much of the
government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branche ...
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. It is 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. Some chartered cities such as
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and
Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jerse ...
provide municipal services such as police, public safety, libraries, parks and recreation, and zoning. Other cities such as Rancho Cordova and
Isleton Isleton is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. The population was 804 at the 2010 census, down from 828 at the 2000 census. It is located on Andrus Island amid the slough wetlands of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, o ...
arrange to have the County provide some or all of these services on a contract basis. In addition, several entities of the
government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branche ...
have jurisdiction conterminous with Sacramento County, such as the Sacramento County Superior Court.


Organization


Board of Supervisors

Under its foundational Charter, the five-member elected
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Sacramento County, California. Like all other counties in California, with the exception of the City and County of San Francisco, Sacramento is split into five distri ...
(BOS) is the county legislature. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and
quasi-judicial A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been ...
capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process. The current members are: * Phil Serna—District 1 * Patrick Kennedy—District 2 *
Susan Peters Susan Peters (born Suzanne Carnahan; July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952) was an American actress who appeared in over twenty films over the course of her decade-long career. Though she began her career in uncredited and ingénue roles, she woul ...
—District 3, Vice Chair * Sue Frost—District 4 * Don Nottoli—District 5, Chair


Elected officers

In addition to the Board of Supervisors, there are several elected officers that form the Government of Sacramento County that are required by the California Constitution and
California law The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the Calif ...
, and authorized under the Charter. The
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office (SSO), is a local law enforcement agency that serves Sacramento County, California. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, as well as incorporated cities ...
provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, serving as the equivalent of the
county police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
for
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
s of the county, as well as incorporated cities within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as " contract cities"). The
Sacramento County District Attorney ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
prosecute A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tr ...
s
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
and misdemeanor
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
s that occur within the jurisdiction of Sacramento County. The
Sacramento County Assessor ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
determines the assessed valuation of property in the county. The
Sacramento County Board of Education ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
is composed of seven elected members who serve four-year terms. It governs the
Sacramento County Office of Education ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
(SCOE), and appoints the
Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
who is also its secretary.


Other departments

The Board of Supervisors appoints the appoint the County Executive, the Board of Law Library Trustees, the Civil Service Commission, and the County Counsel. The County Executive (County Executive Officer or CEO) plans, organizes, directs controls and coordinates County activities. The CEO appoints the: * Coroner * Surveyor * County Engineer * Tax Collector * License Collector * County Clerk * Public Administrator * Director of Finance * Recorder * Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures * County Librarian * Purchasing Agent The Sacramento County Probation Department, under the Chief Probation Officer, supervises adult and juvenile offenders granted
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
with Sacramento County. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) operates health, social, and mental health services for Sacramento County. The Department of Human Assistance (DHA) administers multiple California welfare programs within Sacramento County, including
Medi-Cal The California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal or MediCal) is California's Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, and childless adults w ...
,
CalFresh CalFresh is the California implementation of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp program, which provides financial assistance for purchasing food to low-income California residents. Benef ...
,
CalWORKs The California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program is the California welfare implementation of the federal welfare-to-work Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that provides cash aid and services to e ...
, general assistance, a Medically Indigent Service Program (MISP), and recently a
Low Income Health Program Welfare in California consists of federal welfare programs—which are often at least partially administered by state and county agencies—and several independent programs, which are usually administered by the counties. The largest California-s ...
(LIHP) Medicaid Coverage Expansion (MCE) program. The Department of Community Development interprets/enforces California Building Codes for privately owned buildings and structures including commercial and residential new buildings, alterations, additions and/or repairs within Sacramento County’s unincorporated area, investigates housing, zoning and vehicle abatement laws in the unincorporated Sacramento County, performs County Surveyor functions, and oversees most aspects of local land use planning in the unincorporated area of Sacramento County. The Department of Water Resources provides drainage, flood control and water supply services to various service areas of unincorporated Sacramento County and the Cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova.


Law

The '' Sacramento County Code'' is the codified law of the County in the form of ordinances passed by the Board of Supervisors. 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.California Government Code § 25132.


History

The current charter was proposed by the Sacramento County
Board of Freeholders Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...
and ratified by the electorate on February 18, 1933 and became effective July 1, 1933.


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

The government of Sacramento operates as a
charter city 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 orga ...
(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 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. Sacramento's city co ...
with 15 city council districts and the Mayor of Sacramento, which operate under a mayor-council government. In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the City Manager,
Sacramento Police Department The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) is the police department for the city of Sacramento, California. On August 11, 2017, Daniel Hahn was sworn in and became the city's first African American police chief. History The founding of the City of S ...
(SPD), the
Sacramento Fire Department The Sacramento Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Sacramento, California. The department was first organized on February 5, 1850. It was not until March 30, 1872, when it finally became the fi ...
(SFD), Community Development Department, City Clerk, City Attorney, and City Treasurer. As of 11 December 2012 the current mayor was Kevin Johnson and the current councillors were: * Angelique Ashby—District 1, Vice Mayor * Allen Warren—District 2 * Steve Cohn—District 3 * Steve Hansen—District 4 * Jay Schenirer—District 5 * Kevin McCarty—District 6 * Darrell Fong—District 7 * Bonnie Pannell—District 8


School districts

Sacramento County is mostly covered by the Los Rios Community College District, but also includes parts of the San Joaquin Delta Community College District around
Isleton Isleton is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. The population was 804 at the 2010 census, down from 828 at the 2000 census. It is located on Andrus Island amid the slough wetlands of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, o ...
.


Special districts

The Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission (SacLAFCo) is the
Local Agency Formation Commission Local Agency Formation Commissions or LAFCOs are regional service planning agencies of the State of California. LAFCOs are located in all 58 counties and exercise regulatory and planning powers in step with their prescribed directive to oversee the ...
(LAFCo) for Sacramento County and regulates special districts. The
Sacramento Regional Transit District The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as SacRT (or simply RT), is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition o ...
(RT) is responsible for
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
ation and is governed by an eleven-member Board of Directors composed of members of the Sacramento, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, and Folsom City Councils as well as members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. Electricity for the county is provided by the
Sacramento Municipal Utility District The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is a community-owned electric utility serving Sacramento County and parts of Placer County. It is one of the ten largest publicly owned utilities in the United States, generating the bulk of its p ...
. The district is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors, and each member is elected by residents in a "ward" or constituency for four-year terms.


Notes


External links


Sacramento County government
{{California topic, Government of
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...