State and County - Modern Stage Coach Robbers

The press recently reported the budget debacle has the State withholding payments owed to the County. So the County Supervisors grandstanding reaction is to express their collective indignation and threaten the admittedly illegal boycott of not passing tax revenues to the State.

Two days later, the media reported that this same County bureaucracy just held our cities hostage and threatened to bring our local community economic engines to a screeching halt, by placing us on the “death penalty” list if we didn’t pay additional taxes to the County and other agencies supported by the County. In an audit conducted by the County, the County reinterpreted payment terms in their favor. This can result in reduced County liability to these agencies due to our additional payments.

Hardly an arms length audit, is it? Anybody else see the irony here?

Through this cozy little arrangement, the State reduces its liability, the County reduces its liability, the County gets to further charge an adminstrative fee to rip us off, and the cities just keep on paying!

They just keep kicking the can down the alley and into our neighborhood.

Their other little pea-under-the-shell-game is called ERAF. Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund. Just another shift of responsibility onto the local cities. If the State forces the cities to pay it, then the State doesn't have to.

Next time you hear a State Legislator or the Governor say they aren't balancing their budget on the cities backs, or that they respect the overwhelming support by the taxpayers of Prop 1A (Protect Local Governmant), refer back to this exercise and call BS on it!

So let's talk real Economic Stimulus. Timely and efficient economic stimulus occurs at the local level through our Redevelopment Agencies. Locally marketed bonds finance local projects that rely on and benefit local residents, businesses and contractors. New jobs and opportunities are created; building supplies, business equipment and materials are purchased; commerce is generated; bonds are repaid and reinvested. The economy is stimulated. Locally and successfully. That's Redevelopment 101.

Unfortunately, this success does not go unnoticed. The bureaucratic vultures continue to circle, looking for ways to tap our resources which, constitutionally, are not theirs’ to access. That's why the cities have joined the California Redevlopment Association in a lawsuit to stop this abuse.

Furthermore, the State doesn’t have actual land with which to stimulate commercial or industrial growth, only policies. The State and County can either stimulate or stifle the local economy through their policies and actions. The continued success of local cities depends on the policies and actions of the State and County. Any funds hijacked by the State or diverted by the County will merely go towards reducing their deficits, upon our backs, and that’s a lot different from stimulating growth.

The State’s poorly drafted legislation in the last minute trailer bill of AB 1389 supplements other county responsibilities, and maximizes relief for the State's stressed General Fund. This action comes at the expense of local cities, closest to the citizens, who are struggling to maintain public safety staffing and service levels, and provide quality of life programs to the citizens.

So, on Fubruary 18, we were strongarmed into voting to make the $2.4 million payment, which was previously earmarked for senior housing downtown near city hall. That brings the total to over $10.3 million since 92-93 that the state has robbed us of, only now they've enlisted the help of the County.

Get off our backs. Get out of our pockets. And let us do our jobs!