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4/12/2004 <br />ORIGINAL <br />RESOLUTION NO. 14578 <br />RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE "LOCAL TAXPAYERS AND <br />PUBLIC SAFETY PROTECTION ACT" INITIATIVE FOR THE <br />NOVEMBER 2, 2004 STATEWIDE BALLOT, REQUIRING VOTER <br />APPROVAL BEFORE STATE GOVERNMENT MAY CONFISCATE <br />LOCAL TAX FUNDS <br />WHEREAS, State of California annually seizes over $800 million in city property <br />tax funds (ERAF) statewide, costing cities over $6.9 billion in lost revenues over the <br />past 12 years and seriously reducing resources available for local public safety and <br />other services; and <br />WHEREAS, in adopting the state budget this year the Legislature and Governor <br />appropriated local vehicle license fee backfill and redevelopment property tax funds that <br />are needed to finance critical city services such as public safety, parks, street <br />maintenance, housing and economic development; and <br />WHEREAS, the deficit financing plan in the state budget depends on a local <br />property and sales tax "swap" that leaves city services vulnerable if the state's <br />economic condition fails to improve; and <br />WHEREAS, the adopted state budget assumes an ongoing structural budget <br />deficit of at least $8 billion, putting city resources and services at risk of additional state <br />revenue raids in future years; and <br />`1_1 <br />WHEREAS, since fiscal year 1992/1993, the State has taken over $35 million of <br />Redwood City's funding as part of the so- called ERAF property tax shift, with a <br />continuing diversion of over $4 million annually, and in just the last two fiscal years the <br />State has taken nearly $400,000 from the City's Redevelopment Agency funds; and <br />WHEREAS, it is abundantly clear that state leaders will continue to use local tax <br />funds to balance the state budget unless the voters limit the power of the Legislature <br />and Governor to do so; and <br />WHEREAS, the voters of California are the best judges of whether local tax <br />funds should be diverted, confiscated, shifted or otherwise taken to finance an over- <br />expanding state government; and <br />WHEREAS, the General Assembly of Voting Delegates of the League of <br />California Cities at its September 10, 2003 meeting voted to sponsor a statewide ballot <br />initiative to empower the voters to limit the ability of state government to confiscate local <br />tax funds to fund state government; and <br />Afty /Reso /Reso.1456 1 14578 <br />031704 <br />