Results tagged “state budget” from Press Corps

You can keep watching the budget talks in Sacramento online on the California Channel today as the Legislature tries to eliminate that pesky $24 billion budget deficit. The clock is ticking as Tuesday's deadline approaches. If no budget deal is reached, the state will start issuing IOUs to its workers on Wednesday.

The California Channel has and will continue to have live webcasts of the state Senate and Assembly as they go through their budget discussions. WIth the clock ticking, a June 30 deadline looming and the state's coffers almost empty, there is precious little time remaining for the state to eliminate its $24 billion budget deficit, or at least a short-term $5 billion savings to keep California running for a little while longer.

Right now, the state Senate is debating a $5 billion plan that has been approved by the Assembly, is opposed by the governor and so far has been blocked by Republicans in the Senate. Check it our here.

The Los Angeles Times has a great interactive budget balancing "game" on its Web site. You decide what programs to cut, where to raise taxes and fees, and try to eliminate California's $24 billion budget deficit.

Let me tell you, it's not easy.

Who wants to cut funding for schools or healthcare for children? Yet the idea of raising taxes, even on the rich, doesn't seem very appealing, especially in this economy. Remember that one of the big issues is a plan to take revenues from local governments, which has the League of California Cities and city officials across the state, including those in Long Beach, up in arms.

However the budget is fixed, in the end someone isn't going to be happy. There's just no avoiding it. I have to say that I don't envy our legislators in Sacramento. So, try the budget activity for yourself here and see if you can keep California from a fiscal meltdown.

The League of California Cities has created a new video Web site to try to convince state legislators not to borrow $2 billion from local property tax revenues, which would further slash already diminished city budgets. Long Beach is expected to lose $10 million from its general fund if the proposal moves forward.

The Web site, www.SaveYourCity.net, allows elected leaders and community members to upload videos in which they can explain how the state take-aways will hurt their communities. While no Long Beach officials have posted a video yet, several other area leaders have, including Lakewood Mayor Todd Rogers and Bellflower Mayor Ray Smith. See their videos below.

From the League's press release: 

The League of California Cities today is launching www.SaveYourCity.net as a unique and innovative platform for mayors, city council members and concerned members of the public to tell policy makers how communities will be devastated if the state forces cities to bail the state out of its budget deficit. Anyone can register on the site and submit a video. Each video uploaded to www.SaveYourCity.net will automatically be sent to the Governor and the legislators of the person who submitted the video. More than 200 city officials, business and community leaders and the public have already submitted video testimony to lawmakers and the Governor.

Since 1991, state officials have taken over $10 billion in local property taxes to meet state obligations, costing cities over $900 million each year. Now state officials are considering forcing local governments to "loan" the state $2 billion in local property tax revenues to help close the state's budget deficit. This type of borrowing binge to fund today's budget is part of what got California into its budget mess in the first place. It needs to be stopped if we ever hope to have a responsible budget.  

Here are the brief, somewhat rough, videos by two local leaders: