Amador County – On Monday, the Ione City Council became the third local city to pass a resolution opposing a state raid on city property taxes. Last week, Plymouth passed a similar resolution “finding a severe fiscal hardship will exist if the state seizes additional city property tax funds.” On Tuesday, the Ione City Council also approved the resolution, encouraged and circulated to city governments by the California League of Cities. League representative for Northern California, Charles Anderson said Wednesday that the governor’s “May Budget Revise” would take funding from the cities’ property taxes to the tune of $2 billion dollars. Anderson said the state has taken about $600 million dollars a year – about $8 billion dollars total – from city property tax revenue, beginning in the 1990s. But he said the law requires that in times of financial crisis, those seized finances must be repaid as a loan, or what the League of Cities calls a “shotgun loan.” Anderson said the city of Jackson could lose $107,000 dollars in the state plan to take property taxes. Sutter Creek Finance Director Jeff Gardner on Monday told the Sutter Creek City Council that the shotgun loan “would mean a $53,000-dollar loss of cashflow next year.” The council voted 5-0 to pass a resolution opposing the program. Last Thursday, Gardner, also Plymouth’s finance director, told the Plymouth City Council that the state loan grab “translated into about $23,000-dollar being left out of our general fund.” City Manager Dixon Flynn said “Plymouth doesn’t have a lot of money to begin with. We don’t have a lot to lose.” Ione’s resolution noted “cumulative property tax losses of cities statewide” was $8.6 billion. Kerr said Ione has lost $25,524 dollars since the 1990s, and next year the city could lose $119,174. Last Monday, May 11, the League of California Cities said “the first of many cities across California declared a state of severe fiscal hardship and opposed” the proposal to “take local property tax funds to finance the state budget.” By Friday, more than 100 cities had passed or were scheduled to pass a resolution declaring a state of severe fiscal hardship. The League said the “actions reflect the impacts that the stagnating economy has had on California cities due to serious declines in local tax revenues.” Statewide budget reductions are causing public safety reduction, employee layoffs, hiring freezes, project delays and program reductions. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thursday, 21 May 2009 00:43
Cities In Fiscal Hardships
Amador County – On Monday, the Ione City Council became the third local city to pass a resolution opposing a state raid on city property taxes. Last week, Plymouth passed a similar resolution “finding a severe fiscal hardship will exist if the state seizes additional city property tax funds.” On Tuesday, the Ione City Council also approved the resolution, encouraged and circulated to city governments by the California League of Cities. League representative for Northern California, Charles Anderson said Wednesday that the governor’s “May Budget Revise” would take funding from the cities’ property taxes to the tune of $2 billion dollars. Anderson said the state has taken about $600 million dollars a year – about $8 billion dollars total – from city property tax revenue, beginning in the 1990s. But he said the law requires that in times of financial crisis, those seized finances must be repaid as a loan, or what the League of Cities calls a “shotgun loan.” Anderson said the city of Jackson could lose $107,000 dollars in the state plan to take property taxes. Sutter Creek Finance Director Jeff Gardner on Monday told the Sutter Creek City Council that the shotgun loan “would mean a $53,000-dollar loss of cashflow next year.” The council voted 5-0 to pass a resolution opposing the program. Last Thursday, Gardner, also Plymouth’s finance director, told the Plymouth City Council that the state loan grab “translated into about $23,000-dollar being left out of our general fund.” City Manager Dixon Flynn said “Plymouth doesn’t have a lot of money to begin with. We don’t have a lot to lose.” Ione’s resolution noted “cumulative property tax losses of cities statewide” was $8.6 billion. Kerr said Ione has lost $25,524 dollars since the 1990s, and next year the city could lose $119,174. Last Monday, May 11, the League of California Cities said “the first of many cities across California declared a state of severe fiscal hardship and opposed” the proposal to “take local property tax funds to finance the state budget.” By Friday, more than 100 cities had passed or were scheduled to pass a resolution declaring a state of severe fiscal hardship. The League said the “actions reflect the impacts that the stagnating economy has had on California cities due to serious declines in local tax revenues.” Statewide budget reductions are causing public safety reduction, employee layoffs, hiring freezes, project delays and program reductions. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
