Cities hope petitions save cash

The Vacaville Reporter

January 22, 2010

By Melissa Murphy

Cities are banding together in an effort to put a stop to state raids of local government money.

A statewide signature-gathering campaign is underway around the state as city leaders encourage voters to sign a petition to put an initiative on the November 2010 ballot.

Local government leaders including those from transportation, business, public safety, labor and public transit rallied at regional new conferences to support the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Protection Act of 2010, which "closes loopholes to prevent the state from borrowing, raiding or otherwise redirecting local government transportation or public transit funds."

Californians to Protect Local Taxpayers and Vital Services, the coalition supporting the ballot measure, plans to 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.

This weekend, Vacaville Vice Mayor Curtis Hunt and a group of volunteers will be out in highly populated spots around the city gathering signatures. Other cities are following suit.

Hunt said that the regional goal is to collect some 20,000 signatures.

"We're taking a comprehensive approach to stop the Legislature," he said. "This is probably the most important legislative action on the November ballot.

"It will force the state to balance the budget with resources it already has," he continued and added that California has taken a lot more than $3 billion from cities during the last two years.

Hunt noted that if the state continues to take away highway user tax, gas tax, redevelopment funds and property and sales tax, cities will have to cut vital services, such as police and fire.

"We're looking for local partners to help us in this effort," he said. "We have to protect our resources."