LOCAL FUNDING SEIZED GOVERNOR COULD HELP SECURE SERVICES PEOPLE WANT MOST.

Byline: Alex Padilla 

FOR the last 10 years, Los Angeles city and county have been under assault - not from rogue nations or outside invaders, but by our very own elected leaders in Sacramento.

During that decade, cities and municipalities statewide have lost more than $40 billion in tax money - your tax money - that came into local coffers from property taxes and other sources of revenue.

This past January, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that, in order to help balance the state budget, the state would seize $1.3 billion each year from local governments across California - translating to a $49 million annual hit to the city of Los Angeles alone. That's $49 million that won't be going to pay for police and fire protection, $49 million that won't be funding much-needed parks and libraries and $49 million that won't be going to local road repairs.

We understand the state faces a monumental challenge in balancing its budget, and it's certainly not a crisis that we would wish upon anyone. But Sacramento should not be balancing its budget on the backs of cities and counties.

In Los Angeles, with annual budgets of $5.4 billion for city government and $17.1 billion for county government, we have found ways to exercise leadership and mustered up the wherewithal to make the tough decisions so that we don't run up colossal deficits. Being penalized by Sacramento for our financial responsibility isn't just nonsensical, it's wrong. This reverse Robin Hood scenario is one that has drawn the ire of leaders throughout California, who have never understood why our state government would want to inflict this fiscal pain on the very communities it serves.

But today in Sacramento, the winds of change are blowing in just as quickly as the tule fog. Under a new proposal being negotiated by the League of California Cities - an association of local governments up and down the state - we are prepared to make temporary sacrifices. The sacrifices are small considering what we would receive in return: a guarantee from the governor that he would support a constitutional amendment to prohibit the state from seizing local tax dollars originally intended for local programs and services.

This new proposal would allow cities and counties to help bail out Sacramento for the next two years for a total of $2.6 billion. In exchange for the payments, we would have an ironclad guarantee of the governor's support for a constitutional amendment that would prohibit unilateral raids of local coffers by state entities. What's more, the state would repay local cities $520 million in fiscal year 2006-2007 as a demonstration of good faith and a partial repayment of previous tax seizures. That would result in up to $69 million for the city of Los Angeles alone.

If the negotiations reach a conclusion as early as today, we'd see this constitutional amendment move to the Legislature and take the form of a ballot measure in November. Since it's a constitutional amendment, the change would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, as well as a majority vote of the public.

Unlike many items on the ballot these days, this particular measure would not raise your taxes. In fact, it would give cities and counties the access to the tax revenue already earmarked for them. Without the threat of the state taking that money away, cities and counties have less of a need for additional revenue.

Moreover, passage of this constitutional amendment wouldn't give one more dime to government. It would merely ensure that the state couldn't dip into our wallets and pocketbooks. School and highway funding would not be affected, either.

As the governor prepares the May budget revision for release this week, we certainly hope he will take the plight of local government into account when making the tough decisions that we know will be necessary to help move the state forward.

Sacramento is finally showing it's ready to act responsibly. Let's capitalize on this opportunity and preserve California's future for the years to come.

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Photo:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, leads state education officials to a press conference on a university budget deal. City and county officials hope he can help them find a solution to budget woes.

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press