Move begins to stop state from taking funds

Los Angeles Daily News

January 11, 2010

By Rick Orlov, Staff Writer

A coalition of officials from Los Angeles and other California cities launched an initiative campaign Monday in an effort to block the state from appropriating more local money to balance its budget.

The Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Act of 2010 was developed by the League of California Cities and various transportation groups. The campaign needs to collect the signatures of nearly 700,000 registered voters by mid-April to qualify for the November ballot.

"I have said that the federal government likes to print money and the state likes to steal it, while we at the local level have to deliver the services," City Controller Wendy Greuel said at a City Hall news conference with officials from about a dozen cities in Los Angeles County.

The initiative would close various loopholes that allow the state to borrow or take money intended for local governments to balance its own budget. It would also block Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new proposal to change the state's gasoline tax into an excise tax, which would divert an estimated $1.6 billion from local jurisdictions this year.

For Los Angeles, that could mean a loss of up to $120 million. Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials estimate their annual losses at $50 million to $100 million, spokesman Marc Littman said.

Of more concern to the agency is the potential loss of up to $4 billion for its Long Range Transportation Plan, he said.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who is running for lieutenant governor, said the constant battle between the state and cities has to stop.

"It's time for us to tell Sacramento that enough is enough," Hahn said. "The state has continually tried to balance its budget on the back of local government. We have to send them a message that they have to balance their budget without raiding ours."

If approved by voters, the measure would block the state from taking other local funds, such as the effort last year to take money from community redevelopment agencies.

Greuel said that appropriating gas tax revenue not only hurt programs aimed at repairing and improving streets, but harms other programs - from police and fire to libraries - because the cities are forced to cut those services to make up for the lost revenue.