Sacramento Elected Officials, Public Safety Officers, Transportation and Transit Advocates Kick Off Signature Gathering Drive for Statewide Ballot Measure to Stop State Raids of Local Government and Transportation Funds

Supporters Say November 2010 Ballot Measure is Needed to Protect Funding for Public Safety, Emergency Response, Parks, Transportation and Transit Projects and other Vital Local Services.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 12, 2010   

Sacramento, CA – More than 20 local government, transportation, business, public safety, labor and public transit leaders rallied today in Sacramento to kick off a statewide signature-gathering campaign to qualify the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act of 2010 (AG Initiative #: 09-0063) for the November 2010 ballot.

The measure closes loopholes to prevent the State from taking, diverting or borrowing local government, transportation, and public transit funds.  

Californians to Protect Local Taxpayers and Vital Services, the coalition sponsoring the ballot measure, will collect more than 1.1 million signatures to ensure it meets the required 694,354 valid signatures needed to qualify a constitutional amendment for the statewide ballot.  

Today’s kick off event in Sacramento is one of many similar rallies held statewide the past two weeks. Hundreds of local government, public safety, business, and labor leaders have signed up to assist in a massive volunteer signature gathering effort.

“The state can’t continue to use local funds as a backfill for state budget deficits,” said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. “Voters have made it clear they want local government funds to be spent on locally delivered services, yet the state continues to rob Peter to pay Paul.  The resulting effect makes it impossible for us to manage our budgets and puts critical services like public safety and transportation improvements at risk.  We need this ballot measure so we can put a stop to State raids and borrowing of local taxpayer dollars and to protect vital local services.”

California voters have repeatedly and overwhelmingly passed measures to restrict state raids of local government funds, as well as to dedicate gasoline taxes to transportation and public transit improvements and services. Despite this, State elected officials have exploited loopholes in the law and used legally questionable tactics to borrow and raid more than $5 billion in local government, transit and redevelopment funds this year alone, and billions more in past years. Coupled with the downturn in the economy and falling local government revenues, state raids and borrowing of local funds are contributing to severe cutbacks in local police and fire services, parks, libraries, street and road repair, public transit and other local services.

Cities from from all over the Sacramento Valley have taken drastic measures to balance their budgets. Some examples:
•    City of Sacramento faced a serious budget shortfall for FY 2008-09. To close a $58 million budget gap for FY 2008-09, the city cut the budgets of nearly every department by an astounding 20 percent. The city’s $70 million reserve account has been nearly depleted and Sacramento will need to cut $200 million more by 2013 if the city is to stay in the black.

•    City of Folsom slashed its FY 2008-09 budget by 10 percent in part by cutting 50 positions. Of those, 32 positions were completely eliminated and another 18 are not being funded. Among other budget reductions, Folsom’s city officials made the difficult decision not to not construct a fire station.

•    City of Portola cut all department budgets by 5 percent.  City officials also moved Portola’s only building official/inspector to part time status. Being a very small city of just 2,400, fully half of their police budget is funded through the COPS minimum of $100,000.

•    City of Roseville eliminated 40 positions to close its budget gap. City officials made cuts to materials and supplies budgets, reduced the travel budgets and overtime. Roseville is also considering contracting out maintenance work in some departments to help balance its budget.

If passed, the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety, and Transportation Act of 2010 would:
•    Prohibit the state from borrowing local government property tax funds which are vital for public safety and other local services.
•    Prohibit the state from borrowing or taking gasoline taxes which are dedicated to transportation and transit improvements and services, including the state sales tax on gasoline (Prop. 42 funds), and the Highway User Tax on gasoline (HUTA).
•    Prevent the taking of locally levied taxes, including parcel taxes, sales taxes, and other locally imposed taxes that are currently dedicated to cities, counties and special districts.
•    Prohibit the state from taking, borrowing or redirecting existing funding for public transit, including existing taxes on gas and “spillover” funds dedicated to the Public Transportation Account.
•    Add additional constitutional protections to prevent the state from raiding redevelopment funds or shifting redevelopment funds to other state purposes.

Cities, counties and special districts provide the vast majority of law enforcement, fire protection, emergency response and public safety services in California. In fact, on average, 65% of city discretionary budgets go to fund police and fire programs and services and more than half of county discretionary budgets go to fund law enforcement, emergency medical and public health programs and services.

“Police and fire departments across our state have incurred deep cuts to their budgets, which have reduced the number of police officers patrolling our streets, delayed or lost their ability to upgrade critical pieces of life-saving equipment, as well as forced the closure and browning out of local fire stations,” said Officer Brent Meyer, president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association. “Subsequent raiding of local budget funding by state legislators will result in longer response times to emergencies, fewer cops on our streets, and communities that are no longer safe to live in.  We must get this measure on the ballot and pass it in November. Today, our destiny is in the hands of those inside the Capitol Building- individuals who will not be answering the phone or responding to your home when you call 911. We cannot allow state bureaucrats, who are obligated to ensure the public’s safety, to compromise it by stealing local money that doesn’t belong to them.”

Gas taxes paid at the pump are supposed to be dedicated to transportation and transit improvement projects like road safety repairs, congestion relief, and maintaining and expanding mass transit.  Despite this, in the past few years alone the State has raided billions of dollars in public transit funding, and has threatened to borrow or outright take billions of dollars including Prop. 42 and HUTA gas tax funds that are supposed to fund transportation and transit improvements.

“California voters have repeatedly supported statewide measures that dedicate the gas taxes we pay at the pump for transportation and transit projects,” said Sacramento Council Member and Immediate Past President of Sacramento Regional Transit District Steve Cohn. “Despite this, year after year the Legislature exploits every loophole it can find to borrow or raid these critical funds.  Sometimes the theft of these resources is done knowing it’s against the law, but since there’s no punishment, the shell game in over there. This measure will once and for all protect gas taxes from future raids and insure they are used to improve our roads, highways, buses, shuttles and commuter rail systems – just as the voters intended.”