BUDGET DEAL HURTS L.A. PLANNED CUTS WILL COST COUNTY $480 MILLION, CITY $45 MILLION.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer A state Senate budget deal that comes up for a vote Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. will hammer Los Angeles city and county, and faces an uncertain future in the Assembly where San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. area lawmakers remain cautious about signing on to it. Among local Assembly members, only Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills, has committed to the bipartisan Senate plan that would mean a $480 million loss for Los Angeles County and an approximately $45 million loss to the city of Los Angeles
``I can't say whether I'll support it or not,'' said Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, who took the seat occupied by former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg. ``We have a lot of competing issues here. Certainly, the budget is overdue and we need to get it done for many reasons. ``While I'm hopeful and encouraged that the Senate has reached an accord, we need to see what it does. It's look before you leap Before You Leap is the autobiography and self-help guide written by Muppet Kermit the Frog. It was released in September 2006. External links
Local officials also fear that the Senate plan will shortchange short·change tr.v. short·changed, short·chang·ing, short·chang·es 1. To give (someone) less change than is due in a transaction. 2. them in the future through an elaborate tax swap Tax Swap A method of crystallizing capital losses by selling losing positions and purchasing companies within similar industries that have similar fundamentals. Notes: to pay off deficit bonds by diverting a half-cent sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. that now goes to local governments. Although Senate President Pro Tem president pro tem n. pl. presidents pro tem Informal A president pro tempore. John Burton, D-San Francisco, and Republican Leader Jim Brulte were tight-lipped tight·lipped also tight-lipped adj. 1. Having the lips pressed together. 2. Loath to speak; close-mouthed. See Synonyms at silent. about details of their proposed budget solution, other officials said the $1.2 billion loss to local governments includes an $850 million one-time cutoff of vehicle license fee payments to cities and counties from July through October. Los Angeles County would lose an estimated $180 million of those vehicle license fees, and the city of Los Angeles would lose $45 million. But instead of a cut, the revenue loss would be considered a loan by local governments to the state. The state would be required to pay the money back in 2006. No trust in state ``We understand they are trying to make this a loan, but the biggest thing for our cities and counties is they really have a trust issue with the state,'' said Megan Taylor, spokeswoman for the League of California Cities. ``We now have a history of the state taking property tax money when they did the ERAF ERAF Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (California) ERAF Erythroid - Associated Factor shift 12 years ago, VLF (Very Low Frequency) See low radiation. monies in 1998 with a promise they would keep us whole and in this budget, the sales tax. So there is a very big trust issue.'' In 1992, the Education Revenue Augmentation Fund, or ERAF, shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in local property taxes annually to schools, but schools didn't benefit from it because at the same time lawmakers reduced other state funding to education. Despite state officials' promises that the shift was temporary, the funds have never been restored to cities and counties. Los Angeles City Administrative Officer William Fujioka said he has been working on proposals he will present to the mayor and City Council to make those millions of dollars in cuts, but he said it was premature to comment on those ideas Friday. David Janssen, the county's chief administrative officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive , said he will have to wait until Monday to find out more details to know exactly what sort of impact the cuts would have on county services. ``It's a lot of money, but I'm not going to speculate until they are done on what the potential impact may be,'' Janssen said. Medi-Cal cuts Another element of the budget proposal is a 5 percent cut in payments to Medi-Cal providers, except for nursing homes. The proposal by Burton and Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga, also would cut $250 million in redevelopment funds to local governments. ``We are very concerned about those,'' said Taylor of the league of cities. ``If a redevelopment agency doesn't have their portion of the $250 million to transfer to the state, the city general fund is on the hook Adj. 1. on the hook - caught in a difficult or dangerous situation; "there I was back on the hook" dangerous, unsafe - involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm; "a dangerous criminal"; "a dangerous bridge"; "unemployment reached dangerous for that.'' The budget solution also calls for cutting $50 million in booking fees to law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). and $50 million for community-oriented policing A philosophy that combines traditional aspects of law enforcement with prevention measures, problem-solving, community engagement, and community partnerships. From the 1930s to the 1960s, U.S. law enforcement relied on a professional policing model. and other programs, officials said. In addition, there's a cut to the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs and juvenile justice programs of $16 million, elimination of training and technology and other programs, said Pat Leary, legislative analyst with the California State Association of Counties. The compromise budget proposal would finance the state's existing $10.7 billion deficit and impose more than $11 billion in cuts to state services, as a way to avoid a projected $38 billion deficit by the end of next June. No new taxes In a victory for Republicans, the plan contains no new taxes, although many of the deep spending cuts called for by the GOP are also not included. Democrats would avoid making deep cuts to education and public health by delaying repayment of the deficit bonds until late 2004. Schools are also protected, facing no significant reduction from those cuts proposed by Gov. Gray Davis in his May budget plan. Dan Pellissier, spokesman for Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, said Richman is very unlikely to vote for the proposed budget. ``It's $8 billion out of balance for next year,'' Pellissier said. ``It's not fiscally responsible. There is too much smoke and mirrors.'' Pavley said she supports the proposal. ``It's really important the state passes a budget as quickly as possible,'' Pavley said. ``No one is going to like the cuts. Being a former local government official and a teacher for 28 years, I hate to see local government and education cuts in any way at all, let alone deferring investments in building roads and for transportation.'' Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Westlake Village, said he hasn't decided how he will vote and is waiting for more details. ``When we have a $38 billion deficit, no one will walk away with a budget they are happy with,'' Strickland said. ``We had an unbalanced budget for three years and we won't be able to get it out of mismanagement mis·man·age tr.v. mis·man·aged, mis·man·ag·ing, mis·man·ag·es To manage badly or carelessly. mis·man  age·ment n. in one year.'' Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, said she believes the Legislature is moving in the right direction. ``There are some questions that still remain that we'll be discussing on the Assembly floor,'' Runner said. ``What will protect local government from future revenue raids on their property taxes? My biggest fear is there is supposed to be an $8 billion deficit next year.'' Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com |
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