Yesterday the California League of Cities hosted a press conference to announce their intention to sue the State of California over the raid on gas tax and redevelopment funds to “balance” the state budget.
Martin Wisckol of the Orange County Register filed this report:
Cities say they’ll sue if plan to raid local coffers moves ahead
SANTA ANA – The California League of Cities is preparing a lawsuit to block the proposed state budget if it is approved by the Legislature, which is set to vote on the deal tomorrow.
The proposal to resolve the state’s $26 billion shortfall includes taking an estimated $5 billion from city and county governments. The league’s attorneys say the state’s taking of $1.6 billion of cities’ gas tax money and $1.3 billion of redevelopment funds is illegal, officials said Wednesday during a press conference in Santa Ana.
City council members complained that they had already made deep cuts because of declining sales tax, property tax and vehicle license fee revenues. Giving money to the state to solve its record shortfall would mean even fewer police on the beat, fewer firefighters on trucks, and less road maintenance, among other things, officials said.
Read the rest of Wisckol’s story here.