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DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE RELEASES ESTIMATED TRIPLE FLIP PAYMENTS Earlier this week, the California Department of Finance (DOF) sent county auditors its estimates for the 2005-06 triple flip payments and the 2004- 05 triple flip "true-up" adjustment amounts owed to cities and counties. A new method of calculation was used to determine these estimates, resulting in a negative adjustment of approximately $173 million state- wide to the 2004-05 triple flip payments. The Board of Equalization (BOE) submitted numbers to DOF based upon a different methodol- ogy than was used to calculate the initial 2004-05 triple flip estimates last year, which led to the negative adjustment. In effect, the estimated payments were made on a 10.5 months basis, while the DOF is basing the true-up on nine months (corresponding to the BOE quarterly reports of actual amounts owed). The League of California Cities and others have worked with DOF over the past week to get the department to reconsider these estimates to be consistent with the earlier methodology, but has not yet prevailed. To view the updated triple flip estimates, please visit the League website at www.cacities.org. CITY BALLOT MEASURE ACADEMY A HIT! The League's new City Ballot Measure Acad- emy (CBMA) held its third training session in Walnut Creek on August 25. The course is de- signed for local officials and others considering placing a measure on the ballot. This session drew attendees from over a dozen East Bay cities. The CBMA helps local leaders decide whether a ballot measure would be feasible in their commu- nity, by walking community leaders through the key elements of passing a local ballot measure. CBMA topics include: legal do's and don'ts, building a campaign organization, organizing grassroots support and messaging. d4- II VEHICLE LICENSE FEES UPDATE Last year, as a result of the Proposition 1 A budget agreement, cities received property tax in lieu of a substantial portion of the vehicle license fees. These distributions were made in January and May of this year based on estimates devised in September 2004. The State Controller's office is working to detennine what the actual Vehicle License Fee (VLF) receipts were for the 2004-05 fiscal year to determine the amount of property tax that is needed to "true-up" (adjust) the VLF for last fiscal year. This number is due to be transmitted to counties on October 15. While the League is not apprised of the exact amount, it looks as if the VLF receipts have run ahead of the estimates. If this proves to beaccurate, the true-up on the property tax should reflect this. As soon as an update on this information is available, the League will alert members. For more infonnation, please contact League Legislative Representative Jean Korinke at (916) 658-8245, or e-mail at jkorinke@cacities.org. SAVE THE DATE! LEAGUE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OPENS OCTOBER 5 The League of California Cities' 107th Annual Conference opens on Wednesday, October 5, at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco. Set with the theme "Stepping It Up," the conference will be attended by more than 2,000 California may- ors, council members and city officials, all discuss- ing issues important to cities. Topics of interest include housing and infra- structure, telecommunications legislation, financ- ing, effective management, leadership and gov- ernment, and much more! Featured speakers will include National League of Cities President and Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, former California Public Health Officer Richard Jackson, M.D., and Dr. Steven D. Levitt, an economist with the University of Chicago and author of "Freakonomics." Continued on Page 6 For more information and to register, please visit the League's website at www.cacities.org/ac. Visit the league's Official Website--www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 3