AgdaPkt 2003-06-02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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?A_1 In addition to this week's highly successful Legislative Action Days, LOCAL coalition partners continued to carry out activities in communities throughout the state. A few of them are described below. Grassroots Activities " AjointlyorganizedLegis lativeAction Days Dinner was held Wednesday evening at the Sacramento Sheraton Grand by the Inland Em- pire, Riverside County, Desert Mountain, San Diego County and Imperial County Divisions that touted a program on:" Hear our Unity ". The Call of Unity was accomplished by bringing LO- CAL Coalition Partners and Labor to speak to a room of 190 members, partners and 18 guest Legislators. Speaking in behalf of local govern- ment and the protection of revenue and services were: Teamster's Lobbyist Barry Broad, Rancho Cucamonga Senior Activist Pauline Dean, San Diego Interim Police Chief John Welter, So. Cal. Building Industry Association President Ray Becker and San Diego Regional Chamber Public Policy V.P. Eugene Mitchell. Their message showed the diversity of the coali- tion and was a statement of commitment, partnering and assistance in educating and mobilizing those members and public they com- municate with. "The May /June issue of The La Palman, a citywide newsletter for the City of La Palma residents features a front -page article entitled, "Budget Challenges Impact La Palma." The article says, "Currently more than $500,000 a year in local property tax dollars that used to come to the City of La Palma goes to the State of Califor- nia. Since 1992, more than $4.2 million of prop- erty tax dollars paid by La Palma property owners has gone to State coffers, instead of staying in town to pay for basic services that our community wants and expects." The La Palman article further explained how the downturn in the economy has affected the city budget and what current steps the city has taken to address the shortfall. In addition, the article discussed the 2003 -04 budget proposals and projected potential impacts on the city if the state raids local revenues. A series of public budget meetings were announced for this summer and the article said if residents were residents were concerned about the state proposals to balance its budget "on the backs of local cities like La Palma." then they could contact their state Legis- lators. La Palma is sending two city councilmembers to the LOCAL Legislative Action Days, Council Members Alta Duke and Ken Blake. Meanwhile City Manager Catherine Standiford and Mayor Christine Barnes will hold down the fort and will deliver a state of the city address to the La Palma Chamber of Com- merce on May 14th. • Doug Prichard, City Manager for Roll- ing Hills Estates, recently sent a memo to all 20 Rolling Hills Estates Home Owner Association Presidents to follow up on a joint meeting be- tween the City Council and the HOA Presidents. The meeting discussed the state bullet and its impact on local revenues, particularly the Vehicle License Fees. Many of the HOA Presidents asked for more information on the subject, so Prichard responded with a detailed memo where he said the presidents, "...may find helpful in discussing this issue with your neighbors." The memo said for Rolling Hills Estates, "The VLF accounts for about 8% of our general fund operating budget which is the equivalent of the annual cost for providing three Sheriffs Deputies on the street." Prichard wrote, "California's cities have been asked too many times before to bail out the state in times of fiscal crisis. We have too many times before "shared the pain," a pain not of our own making, and never have we been allowed to "share the gain" even in times of large state surpluses." . " Last Saturday, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes hosted their annual "Community Leaders Breakfast" with 90 leaders in attendance. The sole topic for the breakfast was, "Discussion of the State Budget Crisis and what it means to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes." The breakfast Continued on Page 13 visit the League's official Web Site-- wAw.cadties.cxg PRIORITY FC)CIJS /PALE 7