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6, A -18 INGLEWOODfrom page 1............................................. The panel was the California State Senate Committee on Local Government. The March 7 hearing in the city of Inglewood was presided over by Committee Chair Tom Torlakson (Antioch). He was joined by Senator Ed Vincent (Inglewood), Senator Nell Soto (Pomona) and Assembly Member Horton (Bonita) in hearing testimony about basic local services at risk such as public safety, housing, senior and emergency services. have both a crushing immediate and long term impact on the City of Torrance and the City's housing units for senior citizens." The field hearing was held at the request of Senator Vincent, a former Inglewood City Council Member. STATE BUDGET UPDATE Also present to testify on the impact of vehicle license fee (VLF) and redevelopment cuts were Lynwood Mayor Fernando Pedrozo, Long Beach Director of Finance Bob Torrez, Paramount Director of Public Safety John Moreno and Paramount Assistant Finance Director Karina Lam. For each of these cities, loss of VLF and redevelopment funding means cuts to anti- graffitti programs, anti -gang units, parks and recreation and other programs that have helped turn their cities around. Also at stake are many redevelopment projects that have brought jobs and stability to the local economy. Gardena Mayor Terrence Temuchi said, "The impact this will have on Gardena will be devastating, resulting in the providing only minimal standards of safety and protection of our residents." James Hendrickson, City Manager for the City of Palos Verdes Estates testified, "If the Governor's budget becomes law, our police department will have to come up with $294,000 in budget cuts. The police department is 85% personnel expenses. As such it is impossible to achieve the necessary level of reductions without cutting sworn police personnel." Lawndale Mayor Harold Hoffman testified the impact of the proposed budget "...would eliminate four Sheriff Deputies from a force of 22 contract officers, serving a population of over 33,000." Inglewood Police Chief Ronald Banks said the Governor's proposals would mean his department would be hit with a $1.7 loss and could mean staff reductions such as five narcotics unit detectives, three gang unit detectives, four traffic safety officers and several dispatchers. On the subject of redevelopment cuts, Lawndale's Mayor Hoffmann testified, "Presently, over 70% of our residents are tenants, making it extremely critical to preserve our housing funds so that we can encourage home ownership in our city." Also on the topic of redevelopment funds, Torrance Council Member Paul Nowatka testified, "The City strongly opposes this (proposed) transfer. Such an action would • On Monday, March 10, attorneys for the State Controller and the State Department of Finance issued a joint legal opinion clarifying the circumstances under which the trigger could be pulled under existing law. The opinion states: "/t is our opinion that the 'availability' of sufficient General Fund moneys to fund the VLF offset requires an examination ofseveral factors consisting primarily ofbudgetary considerations, and, secondarily, the availability of General Fund cash. " It suggests, in general, looking at the cash position after the April tax receipts are noted, and the May revision budget data. It excludes from consideration in the definition of sufficient funds any proceeds of borrowings made to the General Fund which will not be repaid in the fiscal year of borrowing (such as RAW borrowing). • The legal opinion provided some of the assurance sought by Assembly Democrats that a means of continuing VLF funding for public safety and other essential local services had at least been mapped out. With this higher degree of assurance, the full Assembly took up and passed a package of bills containing $3.3 . billion in current fiscal year program cuts. The Senate passed the same package on Thursday, May 13. • The Senate Local Government Committee held a hearing last Friday, March 7, in the City of Inglewood to take testimony on the impacts of the Governor's proposed cuts on local services. The League's Regional Representatives in Los Angeles worked together to recruit about 10 city officials to testify, including police chiefs, union representatives, county library officials and others. • Several joint policy- budget committee informational hearings on the impacts of the Governor's proposed budget cuts were held this week. They focused on health realignment proposals, cuts to the Traffic Congestion Relief Program, and proposals affecting housing. PAGE 4 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org