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VA4 <br />BUDGETfrom page 1•• 4.4 4 4 4 4.0 0 0 4 4 <br />Don't Miss The December Issue of On Monday, the Administration released a list of <br />Western City Magazine: "2003 Annual $1.9 billion in proposed current year budget cuts. <br />Conference Review" and "Adopting a The cuts do not have a direct effect on cities and <br />Code of Ethics" focus primarily on health and welfare programs. <br />• Taking Charge of Our Economic <br />Future, by League President, Ron <br />Loveridge. <br />• City Forum: A Budget - Neutral Way <br />Cities Can Help California's Uninsured <br />Children. <br />On Tuesday, Assembly and Senate budget <br />committees met separately to hear a presentation <br />from the Department of Finance on the cuts and <br />other proposed budget actions. The DOF was <br />joined by the Legislative Analyst and the State <br />Treasurer to provide full perspective and feedback <br />on the proposals. <br />• Adopting a Code of Ethics, Promoting <br />Public Confidence Through Ethics <br />Codes. <br />• 2003 League of California Cities <br />Annual Conference Review. <br />• Tough Questions and Tight Spots: <br />Everyday Ethics for Local Officials — <br />How can you say "no" to constituents <br />and politically live to tell the tale? <br />Plus — An Update on the League's <br />Ethics Education Task Froce. <br />Plus — Helen Putnam Award Winnersl <br />Long Beach's Budget Deficit Forges <br />Vastly Improved Relationship With <br />Constituents, Santa Maria Focuses <br />on Teen Pregnancy Project and Willits <br />Views Itself Through the Eyes of <br />Teens. <br />All this, plus information on city jobs and <br />businesses that provide services to cities. <br />For over 75 years, the League's award - <br />winning Westem City magazine has been the <br />best source of information for California city <br />decision makers. For subscription informa- <br />tion call: 916.658.8223, or visit the Western <br />City Web site at www.westemcity.com. <br />Also on Tuesday, 7 of California's 10 big city <br />mayors met with the Governor, with one participat- <br />ing by conference call. The mayors emerged <br />saying that the Governor had reassured them that <br />cities and counties would indeed be backfilled for <br />the VLF loss that began last week with the <br />Governor's "unpulling" of the VLF trigger. <br />Differences in Estimates of VLF "Gap" <br />Do NOT Mean New City Cuts <br />The most important "news item" for cities <br />coming out of the Tuesday hearings was the <br />announcement that, according to the Department <br />of Finance, the VLF "gap" that was part of the <br />2003 -04 state budget has grown to approximately <br />$1.3 billion, some $475 million more than estimates <br />used for the 2003 -04 budget. However, this new <br />"gap" figure differs with the Controller's office <br />reports on the actual VLF revenues the state <br />received during the gap period (late June to Octo- <br />ber 1s'). <br />(There definitely needs to be some reconcilia- <br />tion of these two numbers. During this special <br />session period, it has been very difficult to get <br />consistent figures from the various budget actors. <br />When more solid figures are available, we will get <br />them to you.) <br />City officials hearing the new "gap" figure of <br />$1.3 billion immediately asked the League if this <br />meant a new and deeper cut level for city rev- <br />enues. The answer is no! It does not mean greater <br />Continued on Page 5 <br />PAGE 4 /PRIORITY FOCUS <br />Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org <br />