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DIVISIONS from page 1 .............................................. Some of the East Bay Division's Legislative Action Team, consisting of nine mayors and two council members from cities throughout Contra Costa County, received a budget update from the League's Executive Director, Chris McKenzie, and spent the day visiting with their legislators. In meetings with Senator Torlakson, and Assembly Members Houston, Hancock, and Canciamilla, the mayors emphasized the need to restore the vehicle license fees (VLF) to the levels they were at before the 1998 "tax holiday', and ensure that the allocation formula for VLF fees remains the same as it was then. Impacts of Redevelopment Cuts Highlighted City officials also stressed that the Governor's proposals to cut redevelopment association funds for both this and the next budget year would significantly impact the redevelopment activities by causing the elimination or deferral of economic development projects, including the elimination of planned low and moderate income housing developments. In addition, some of the redevelop- ment agencies would not be able to afford the proposed cuts. In such cases, the cuts could be shifted to the cities' general fund, causing cities to cut even more services. The Monterey Bay Division delegation included representatives from police and fire departments, city councils, and the business community. The group participants as the East Bay Group expressed similar concerns during their legislative visits. The delegation was joined at lunch by a panel of legislative and League staff for a budget update and discussion. Included on the panel were: Dianne Cummins, Chief Policy Fiscal Consultant for Senate President Pro Tem Burton; Dan Wall, Budget Analyst for Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson; Dave Rosenberg. - ector of Intergovernmental Relations for Governc Davis; and Jean Korinke, Legislative Representa- tive for the League of California Cities. Salinas Police Chief Dan Ortega provided the panel with the Monterey Bay Division's message to carry back to the Governor and Legislature. Speaking of the passage of the VLF "tax holiday", Dianne Cummins, who was present during the 1998 negotiations on this issue, stated that, "We absolutely agree that the commitment was made (in 1998) that local government wouldn't be hit. We have made it very clear to the Governor that we will not take the backfill without the resources to make local governments whole." "There is an impetus to reach a conclusion (on the VLF)," suggested Dan Wall. "Its in everyone's interest to resolve the VLF before the state needs to borrow money." Dan went on to thank the city officials for their support to date of the Speaker's efforts to restore the VLF, and encouraged them to continue to articulate their position on the VLF trigger to their legislators and the Administration. Dan Ortega emphasized the need to restore the VLF in order to save local services, and underscored the requirement that when restored, " the allocation of funds is done as it always has been done." Regarding the proposals to cut redevelopment funds, Cummins stated that the Senate does not concur with the Governor's proposed cuts to the low and moderate income housing funds. Instead, she expressed a need for a balanced approach in the budget on redevelopment proposals, one that will take some time and require hearings to review. "Clearly, the budget discussions and debate will continue for some time," said Jean Korinke. "We've received a great response from our members to requests to contact their legislators on the budget issues. I encourage you to continue to be active advocates throughout the budget process to ensure city messages continue to be he_�rc: To keep up to date on budget activities and League Alerts, go to www.cacities.orq /budget. PAGE 6 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org