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g•AA ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS RALLY TO SUPPORT LOCAL GOVERNMENT In any budget debate there are always a number of battles and skirmishes before the final document is produced. This year has been no exception with the efforts of the Assembly Democrats early in the budget debate going out on a limb to support "pulling the trigger' on the vehicle license fees, which in turn goes to help local government maintain its services. In the recent debate over a budget proposal to cut local government by $1.1 billion on a permanent basis, a group of Assembly Republicans boldly signed a letter to their Assembly leaders saying that they had "grave concerns" with this particular pro- posal. They went on to say, " ... with a $38 billion budget deficit, everyone, local government included, expects to lose out in the current budget process. However, here are some guiding principles that should serve us well in making decisions impacting taxpayers in our local communities." Those principles include, ". . . cuts of this magnitude ... are unac- ceptable and must be of a one -time, not permanent nature. Local government did not contribute to the structural deficit facing California, and to shift more of the state's problems upon local governments does nothing to curb the spending . . ." The letter was signed by 12 Assembly Republicans. The Republi- cans signing the letter include: Assembly Members Runner, Plescia, Spitzer, Samuelian, Dutton, Keene, Nakanishi, LaMalfa, Maddox, Pacheco, McCarthy and Haynes. Any budget is a delicate balance that requires a two- thirds vote in both houses. This "delicate bal- ance" theory is especially true when the deficit is somewhere between $28 and $36 billion. This letter makes it clear that it will be very difficult to construct a two- thirds vote with permanent cuts to local govern- ment in the magnitude of $1.1 billion. Events such as this and the earlier effort of the Assembly Democrats all help to define the parameters of the "possible" in the final budget and that a disproportionate hit on local governments will be more difficult to achieve. We encourage cities with Assembly representa- tives who signed the letter to contact the member and express your thanks and encouragement them to keep backing local government in the budget debate. ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS PLAN STATEWIDE BUDGET PITCH CITY OFFICIALS SHOULD "TELL THE CITY STORY" On Wednesday — the same day that the coalition mounted 8 press conferences around the state — Speaker Wesson called a press confer- ence to announce that next week he and all the Democratic Assembly Members would "farm out" across the state to meet with city councils, boards of supervisors, teachers' organizations, school boards, chambers of commerce and other groups. His goal is to gain the assistance of local elected officials and others in convincing Republi- can legislators to support a "balanced package" of budget cuts and tax increases. The statewide barnstorming by Democratic legislators is sched- uled to last through Wednesday, June 25. While the announced visits are coming without much notice, they present a great opportunity for city officials to "tell your city's story" to the visiting legislators and the news media that will be cover- ing these events. We urge you to extend your city's hospitality to the visiting legislators, and use it as an opportunity to get to know them better and tell them about your city's priorities and challenges. What You Can Tell the Legislators • Local Budget Cuts. Share with them what your city has already had to do to balance its budget. Remind them the city is facing economic and fiscal challenges at the same time the state is facing similar challenges. • Cities Are Already Net Donors. Politely remind them the city is already contributing prop- erty tax funds to finance the state's obligation to schools. (Statewide cities are contributing over $800 million and all local governments over $5 billion annually). If cities sustain an extra $466 million hit, it is equal to a 56% increase in the annual ERAF shift. • VLF Trigger and Backfill. Pulling of the VLF Continued on Page 12 Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS /PAGE 3