Bellflower, Lakewood mayors join video movement to save budgets

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: