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7Aq LOCAL UPDATE The following are a few of the activities carried out by city officials and others under the "LOCAL" banner (Leave Our Community Assets Local"— the coalition jointly sponsored by the League, the California State Association of Counties, and the California Special Districts Association. Grassroots Activities The Los Angeles County Division will co -host a meeting with Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson to discuss the state of the state budget on May 22 at Pasadena City Hall. Participants in the two -hour meeting (8:00 -10:00 a.m.) have been invited to bring budget balancing ideas as well as questions. An invitation will be mailed this week to all Mayors, City Managers and Finance Directors in the Division. • More than a dozen cities from the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County and Orange County have been invited to participate in a Senate Local Government Committee hear- ing today on the potential impacts on local govern- ments of the vehicle license fee and redevelop- ment proposals in the Governor's budget. The hearing is being held at the request of Senator Bob Margett, former Council Member from the City of Arcadia. There will be two panels — one on the VLF and one on redevelopment. you will be discussing with our Legislators of importance to the Chamber and its members; I would ask that as you talk to the key policymakers you incorporate the message to protect local services." Dolan detailed the potential losses to the City of Manhattan Beach, writing, "When you think that well over half of our general revenues are used to fund police, fire and other public safety responsibilities, cuts of this magnitude would almost certainly mean fewer police officers on the street, fewer firefighters, paramedics and emer- gency medical personnel, longer response times, longer wait for 911 calls, and reduced traffic enforcement." Dolan attached background mate- rials to the memo including a January 2003 LO- CAL Coalition news release about the Governor's proposed budget, a fact sheet on the Governor's proposed cuts to local governments, talking points and copied the entire city council and the League of California Cities on the memo. Dolan serves as the City Manager Liaison to the Grassroots Network for the South Bay City Manager's Asso- ciation. See Also: "The Budget Story — Press Quotes" for samples of press coverage over the past week. This will be a unique opportunity for city offi- cials to remind legislators of the devastating impact certain budget cuts have on essential local city services. The committee meeting will be held in the Auditorium of the South Coast Air Quality Management District building in Diamond Bar. • Manhattan Beach City Manager Geoff Dolan learned through his League Regional Representative that local chambers of commerce were headed to Sacramento as part of the Cali- fornia Chambers of Commerce Legislative Summit, May 6-7. In response to this information, Dolan sent a detailed memorandum dated May 2nd to the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Com- merce writing, "I know there are many issues that Our Mission Restore and protect local control for cities through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians. PAGE 4/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org