AgdaPkt 2008-03-24 Clsd and Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.1D Page 1 REPORT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the Cit Mana er March 24, 2008 SUBJECT Redwood City's Opposition to the State Legislative Analyst's Recommendation to Reduce Law Enforcement Funding RecOMMENOA TtON It is recommended that the City Council authorize Mayor Foust to send letters to State Senator Joe Simitian and Assemblyman Ira Ruskin expressing the City's opposition to the State Legislative Analyst's recommendation to reduce law enforcement funding. BACKGROUND State elected officials are considering a number of alternatives to reduce the State's projected budget defICit. Recently the State Legislative Analyst Offrce (LAO) issued a set of recommendations on how to eliminate this deficit. Included in the LAO's recommendations are significant reductions in the foltowing state subventions to cities: . Abolish the Citizens Options for Public Safety Program. This is a state grant that provides the City about $150,000 per year to finance front-line law enforcement activities. . Redirect aU Proposition 172 pub-Hc safety sales tax revenue to counties. Currently the City receives about $600,000 annually form this revenue source. . Restore booking fees. Since FY 2006107 the State has appropriated $35 mrtlion per year in funding to counties to support law enforcement activities under the conditions that should this appropriation be eliminated or reduced, then counties would be able to resume charging cities for the difference between the amount appropriated and the $35 million. If this recommendation is implemented this will cost the City about $120,000 per year. If att of these recommendations are included in the adopted FY 2009109 State Budget the City will experience a net financial loss (combination of lost revenues and increased expenditures) of $870,000 per year. This is $370,000 over that which staff forecast in the general fund prolections presented to Council on February 25, 2008 at the Council Priority Setting session. More over, if these recommendations are included in the FY 2008/09 State budget there is more of a certainty that these cuts witt be permanent given the depth of the State's financial problems. Losing these funds in perpetuity increases the likelihood that staff at some point in the near future win need to provide Council with recommendations for increasing revenues or reducing expenditures in the City's general fund. AUarnATN~ . The Council may elect to not take a position on these recommendations. 1