SACRAMENTO -- Mayoral challenger Kevin Johnson called for changes in the city's spending on public safety Monday, saying Mayor Heather Fargo's practices have reduced safety and helped increase crime.

Speaking at a Sacramento fire house that he said would have its engine service idled for the next two days because of budget cutbacks, Johnson also criticized elements of a proposed quarter-cent sales tax to combat gangs that Fargo will push at Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

"I'm for a tough, smart approach to fighting gangs," Johnson said. "Mayor Fargo's approach is neither of those things."

Johnson said the proposed sales tax, which would go before voters on Nov. 4 if approved by the council, hasn't been fully vetted and suggested Fargo wants it on the ballot for political reasons rather than practical ones.

"I still haven't seen the language on the measure," he said, though he noted that there were elements of it liked.

He would be inclined to fully support the measure if it contained more money for law enforcement, matching provisions for social services, strong oversight and strict language, Johnson said.

If put on the ballot, the gang sales tax would be alongside an already approved telecommunications tax for Sacramento residents, Johnson noted. In tough economic times, voters are more likely to reject such taxes, with potentially high consequences for the city, he said.

The amount Sacramento spends on law enforcement is less than either Fresno or Long Beach, Johnson said, two cities with population similar to Sacramento.

"The ready-fire-aim approach is exactly what's wrong with this city's leadership," Johnson said.

Johnson, a former NBA All-Star turned entrepreneur and education advocate, did not say what parts of the city budget he would cut to give more money to law enforcement, though he did say he was not opposed to a tax that was properly structured.

Johnson and Fargo, who has been mayor since 2001, are in a Nov. 4 runoff for the mayoral position after neither got a majority of votes in the June 3 primary election.