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q,0 THE BUDGET STORY - SOME PRESS QUOTES Editorials, Columns, Opeds, Letters to the Editor Pasadena Star -News, 4/1103, Procrastina- tion makes state budget woes more painful. .. no one said fixing a budget hole of $30 billion or so would be easy. But it's also clear that putting off hard decisions does a disservice to California. Lawmakers can't wait and hope the situation gets better, because it will not, so they better start looking for common ground now. "Democrats will have to face the fact that the state cannot escape a problem this large without significant program cuts. Republicans will need to realize that some new taxes will be inescapable, given the size of the budget hole." (Note: This editorial also ran 4/01/02 in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.) The Ventura County Star, 3/30/03, Time for state to bite the bullet; License fee should be restored. "...the temptation in Sacramento is for state lawmakers to balance their budget by divert- ing even more of the money once earmarked for local agencies. In so doing, they're (legislators) making a cynical gamble that voters will blame the resulting service cuts on local elected officials and not on members of the Legislature. "It's time for voters to stop letting state lawmak- ers get away with that. It's also time for voters to face fiscal reality. Public finance in California is in shambles, thanks to a confusing maze of voter - approved initiatives that constrain spending and taxation, as well as the increasing importance of such volatile revenue sources as capital gains, income and sales taxes. As a result, there is no fair and reasonable way to balance California's budget this year without simultaneously slashing spending and boosting revenue." Oakland Tribune 3/31/03, State Can't Count On Trickle -Down Economics. "California's local governments have been the clear losers in several Sacramento -g i ve th- and - Sacramento -ta ket h -a wa y scenarios the past couple of decades... what goes around comes around for state government. Its periodic raids on the tills of local officials has been returned by the feds. And somewhere among those unkept promises is a form of limited justice." Sacramento Bee 3/30/03, Daniel Weintraub: A second look at state's great unmentionable — Proposition 13. "Proposition 13 —the untouch- able 'third rail' of California politics — may finally be back in play. A serious move is afoot in the Legisla- ture and among some interest groups to adjust the famous property tax law so that business and commercial property is reassessed at least annually and taxed at market value... These kinds of ideas are worth mulling. The state, and the world, have changed dramatically in 25 years. The tax structure shouldn't automatically be frozen in time." Articles Contra Costa 412/03, Setback on state budget irks officials. "As the state budget hole deepens, the governor's office sent word Tuesday that no solution is likely for at least another six weeks. News of the traditional spring lull in the budget- making process angered public officials and political observers.... In the meantime, state rev- enue for February, the most recent month for which information is available, came in 6.5 percent below projections." The North County Times, 3130/03, Fire Department coping with budget woes. "Come July, there will be no new fire station, no money for more oxygen tanks and neck braces, and no end in sight for the city's budget woes. 'We are starting to reach the point now where you are seeing deficien- cies in service,' Escondido Fire Chief Vic Reed said last week, citing a recent department study .... One idea floating around is to start charging for fire inspections to local businesses, a service that is free right now. Another hope for local fire crews is that state lobbyists for cities, such as the California League of Cities, will be able to bring forward new legislation to protect the city's funding. Until then, Reed asked Escondido residents to take action and start lobbying local and state politicians on behalf of firefighters. 'People need to keep their eyes open on what the state budget means to them,' Reed said. 'Their money is not making its way back to local government.'" Sacramento Bee 3/30/03, Awash in red ink, state will stay afloat. Experts say it won't go bankrupt, though debt will take its toll. "It's an ominous stream of news that is leading some Continued on Page 7 PAGE 4 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org