RES 09307 - Laserfiche WebLink

RESOLUTION NO. 09 -307 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO COOPERATE WITH THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES, OTHER CITIES AND COUNTIES IN LITIGATION CHALLENGING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ANY SEIZURE BY STATE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY'S STREET MAINTENANCE FUNDS WHEREAS, the current economic crisis has placed cities under incredible financial pressure and caused them to make painful budget cuts, including layoffs and furloughs of city workers, decreasing maintenance and operations of public facilities, and reductions in direct services to keep spending in line with declining revenues; and WHEREAS, since the early 1990s the state government of California has seized over $10 billion of city property tax revenues statewide, now amounting to over $900 million each year, to fund the state budget even after deducting public safety program payments to cities by the state; and WHEREAS, in his proposed FY 2009 -10 budget the Governor has proposed transferring $1 billion of local gas taxes and weight fees to the state general fund to balance the state budget, and over $700 million in local gas taxes permanently in future years, immediately jeopardizing the ability of the City to maintain the City's streets, bridges, traffic signals, streetlights, sidewalks and related traffic safety facilities for the use of the motoring public; and WHEREAS, the loss of almost all of cities' gas tax funds will seriously compromise cities' ability to perform critical traffic safety related street maintenance, possibly including, but not limited to, drastically curtailing patching, resurfacing, street lighting /traffic signal maintenance, payment of electricity costs for street lights and signals, bridge maintenance and repair, sidewalk and curb ramp maintenance and repair, and more; and WHEREAS, some cities report to the League of California Cities that they will be forced to eliminate part or all of their street maintenance operations while others will be forced to cut back in other areas (including public safety staffing levels) to use city general funds for basic street repair and maintenance. Furthermore, cities expect that liability damage awards will mount as basic maintenance is ignored and traffic accidents, injuries and deaths increase; and WHEREAS, in both Proposition 5 in 1974 and Proposition 2 in 1998 the voters of our state overwhelmingly imposed restriction on the state's ability to do what the Governor has proposed, and any effort to permanently divert the local share of the gas tax would violate the state constitution and the will of the voters; and WHEREAS, cities and counties maintain 81% of the state road network while the state directly maintains just 8 and WHEREAS, ongoing street maintenance is a significant public safety concern. A city's failure to maintain its street pavement (potholes filling, sealing, overlays, etc.), traffic signals, signs, and street lights has a direct correlation to traffic accidents, injuries and deaths; and