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Home My WebLink About44-City Administrator , CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: Fred Wilson, City Administrator Subject: RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY ~ BERNARDINO SUPPORTING . I POSITION lA, AND REPEALING OLUTION 2004-67 Dept: City Administrator's Offj~ Date: September 15, 2004 ORIGINAL Meeting Date: October 4, 2004 Synopsis of Previous Council Action: March 1, 2004 - Resolution 2004-67 is adopted, supporting Proposition 65 (the League of California Cities' local government revenue protection initiative) Recommended motion: Adopt resolution. Contact person: Lori Sassoon Phone: 384-5122 Supporting data attached: Staff report, resolution Ward: All FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: none Source: (Ace!. No.) (Ace!. Description) Finance: Council Notes: ~c.lJ ~- 323 Agenda Item No. :::Jf lj if /O/'I/oy ~ STAFF REPORT Subiect: Resolution of the Mayor and Cornmon Council of the City of San Bernardino supporting Proposition lA, and repealing Resolution 2004-67 Backnound: In March, the Mayor and Council adopted Resolution 2004-67 in support of Proposition 65. Proposition 65 was an initiative sponsored by the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties, and the California Special Districts Association, and was designed to protect local governments from continual losses of revenue to the State. Since that time, the League and its partners have worked with Governor Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature to draft Proposition lA as an alternative to Proposition 65. Proposition lA is designed to achieve the same goals as Proposition 65, but contains some new safeguards and protections for the State that were agreed upon by the stakeholders involved. All of the official proponents of Prop. 65 are now supporting Prop. lA, and opposing Prop. 65. The Governor is also lending his support to this effort. Summary of ProDosition lA Proposition lA will be on the November ballot. This initiative will prevent the State Legislature from taking and using funds originally cornmitted to local governments. Prop. lA also requires the State to reimburse local governments for the cost of programs and services it mandates cities, counties and special districts provide. If the State fails to provide reimbursement to local governments for state mandated local programs, the mandate must be suspended, except for specified employee rights and benefits. Prop. lA allows for flexibility in the event of a future state fiscal emergency. The State may borrow local government funds, only if the Governor declares a fiscal necessity and 2/3 of the legislature approve. All funds must be repaid within 3 years. Over the past dozen years, in both good economic times and bad, the state Legislature has shifted more than $40 billion in property taxes to the state from cities, counties, special districts and redevelopment agencies, in order to help pay for state responsibilities. This shift has cost the City of San Bernardino nearly $40 million since 1992. The amount diverted from local budgets keeps growing and now amounts to nearly $5 billion annually - an estimated $4 million from the City of San Bernardino this fiscal year. The state has also loaned itself local money over the objections of local governments, leaving local cornmunities struggling to fund all their services, including fire protection, paramedic response, law enforcement, parks and libraries. The State has also imposed billions in additional costs on local governments by mandating programs and services that are only partially funded or not funded at all by the State. . The official ballot label for Prop. IA explains what Prop. IA does: "Ensures local property tax and sales tax revenues remain with local government thereby safeguarding funding for public safety, health, libraries, parks, and other local services. Provisions can only be suspended if the Governor declares a fiscal necessity and two- thirds of the Legislature concur." Financial ImDact: None as a result of this action. Passage of Proposition I A will result in a more stable fiscal relationship with the State. It would also prevent most future revenue losses that could negatively impact services to the community. Recommendation: Adopt resolution. . r 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 t~fPY RESOLUTION NO. 2004-323 RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO SUPPORTING PROPOSITION lA, AND REPEALING RESOLUTION 2004-67 WHEREAS, state government currently seizes more than $5.2 billion annually in local property tax funds statewide from cities, counties and special districts, costing local governments more than $40 billion in lost revenues over the past 12 years; and WHEREAS, these ongoing shifts and raids by the state of local property tax funds and other funding dedicated to local governments have seriously reduced resources available for local fire and paramedic response, law enforcement, roads, parks, libraries, and other essential local services; and WHEREAS, these funding raids also add pressure for local governments to increase fees and taxes to maintain basic local service levels; and WHEREAS, this drain of local resources has continued even during periods when the state's budget has been overflowing with surpluses; and WHEREAS, Proposition lA is a historic measure that will appear on the November 2004 statewide ballot that would limit the State's ability to take and use local government funding; and WHEREAS, by protecting local government funding, Prop IA would protect local public safety, healthcare and other essential local services; and WHEREAS, Prop IA will not raise taxes and, in fact, will help reduce pressure for local fee and tax increases by limiting state raids oflocal government funding; and WHEREAS, Prop lA does not reduce funding for schools or any other state program or service, and Prop 1 A was carefully written to allow flexibility in the event of a state budget emergency; and WHEREAS, Prop lA is supported by a bipartisan, diverse coalition including Governor Schwarzenegger, Democrat and Republican legislative leaders, local government officials, public safety representatives, healthcare, business, labor and community leaders; and WHEREAS, the Mayor and Common Council had previously adopted Resolution 2004-67 in support of Proposition 65, but now all the major proponents of that proposition are opposing Proposition 65 and supporting Proposition IA; II II ~ ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2004-323 RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO SUPPORTING PROPOSITION lA, AND REPEALING RESOLUTION 2004-67 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Mayor and Cornmon Council hereby express strong support for Proposition I A, the statewide ballot initiative that will prevent the state from further taking local government revenues. SECTION 2. Resolution 2004-67 is hereby repealed. SECTION 3. The City Administrator is directed to send a copy of this resolution to Yes on IA - Californians to Protect Local Taxpayers and Public Safety. Fax: 916- 442-3510 or 1121 L Street, #803, Sacramento, CA 95814. III III III 2004-323 1 RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN 2 BERNARDINO SUPPORTING PROPOSITION lA, AND REPLEALING RESOLUTION 2004-67 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the Mayor jt. and Common Council of the City of San Bernardino at a reg. meeting thcreol', held 011 the 4th day of October , 2004, by the following vote, to wit: Council Members: AYES ESTRADA X LONGVILLE X MCGINNIS X DERRY X KELLEY X JOHNSON X MCCAMMACK X NAYS ABSTAIN ABSENT ~/O~ Oc tober The foregoing resolution is hereby approved this '7n-. day of 2004, Approved as to Form and legal content: JAMES F, PENMAN, City Attorney 26 By: auf!.U ~ 27 J ) 11 28