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3.A2 BIG CITY MAYORS CARRY LOCAL MESSAGE TO STATE CAPITOL Mayors from five of the California's biggest cities spoke 00t Thursday against cuts to city government. Before a gathering of statewide news media, Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn was joined by Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, Sacra- mento Mayor Heather Fargo, Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill, and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido and public safety officials from several cities, at a press conference urging Governor Gray Davis and the State Legislature to spare cities from severe cuts in the fiscal year 2003 -04 budget. "If you take money away from the cities, the equation is simple," Mayor Hahn began. "You take police off the street, and firefighters off their trucks." The concern that public safety would be threatened by state budget cuts was repeated by each of the other speakers. San Jose Police Chief William Lansdowne underscored this concern: "We are pleading for the safety of our cities." It is estimated that every million dollars in cuts costs an equivalent 10 jobs to police, fire and public health agencies. Additional cuts made in crime prevention and safe - school programs, which many public safety officials cite as the foundation of strong communities. LAPD Chief William Bratton called the proposals to reduce funding for essential police and fire services "mind- boggling," and Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill confirmed, "This is a crisis for us." The call for leadership in the legislature was heard from all quarters at Thursday's press conference, held on the North Steps of the State Capitol. "We want legislators to act like leaders, show some creativity and initiative and balance this budget," Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo affirmed, citing with her colleagues the realities that cities face in balancing their own budgets. Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown denounced the "political wrangling" around the budget, a process that as Governor he said he had seen firsthand. BIPARTISAN BUDGET SOLUTION OFFERED CRITICAL LOCAL PROGRAMS REDUCED OR ELIMINATED A compromise budget plan released this week by two assembly members offered an encourag- ing sign of bipartisanship, but proposed deep cuts to public safety and other local government ser- vices, some of which would be permanent. The compromise proposal by Assembly Members Joe Canciamilla (D) and Keith Richman (R) released on June 18 would reduce the out - year structural deficits to $1.4 billion in FY 2004 -05 (versus a May revise estimate of $8.6 billion), and $3.3 billion in 2005 -06 (versus $9 billion). In addition, the plan includes proposals for fiscal reform and an economic stimulus package. Plan Based on Assembly- Passed Budget The Canciamilla/Richman budget plan uses the Assembly- passed budget as its basis and accepts its proposal for a % cent sales tax in- crease to finance a $10.7 billion deficit - financing bond. In addition, it assumes that the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) trigger will be pulled, relieving the state of its obligation to pay the VLF backfill in 2003 -04 and beyond. Among the major provisions, the plan rejects the proposal to "realign" (shift) $1.8 billion in health and social services from the state to counties. It also identifies $5.4 billion in additional budget reductions for the 2003 -04 budget year, including some to programs critical to local governments. League Opposes Disproportionate and Ongoing "Hits" The plan provides for a one -time hit of $500 million to local governments. However, in addition to this "unallocated" cut, the plan also eliminates the COPs program ($116 million) and booking fees ($38 million), among other local government cuts. The mayors repeated their message in meet- Continued on Page 12 Continued on Page 12 PAGE 2 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org