State – Representatives from cities throughout California are pooling their collective frustration over state proposed borrowing and budget cuts in order to help solve the state’s $26.3 billion budget deficit. Plymouth City Manager Dixon Flynn called the state legislature’s indecision “the big unknown” in determining whether local cities can balance their own budget’s for the 2009-10 fiscal year. Jackson City Manager Mike Daly is urging local employees to participate “in a grassroots effort to get our legislators to listen to their constituents and urge the state to solve its problems without raiding local government coffers.” Hundreds of cities in California have now passed a resolution put forth by the League of California Cities 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.” Beverly Hills City Manager Rod Wood decried the legislature’s inaction in an open email to city managers throughout the state. “We need our citizens to demand their legislature do exactly what 480 cities and 58 counties do every year, in good times and bad, adopt a balanced budget,” he said. Hopeful news came from Sacramento yesterday when legislative leaders announced they have reached a tentative agreement with the governor on how to close almost all of the state's deficit and hope to conclude negotiations by today. The resolution will inevitably include major cuts to vital state programs. Even if the state can manage to find a resolution, local government’s will still struggle for a long time to come said Flynn. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.