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Home My WebLink AboutCC Reso No 2009-25 B 1 1 7 i _ RESOLUTION NO. 2009-25 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA, FINDING A SEVERE FISCAL HARDSHIP WILL EXIST IF ADDITIONAL CITY PROPERTY TAX FUNDS ARE SEIZED AND ADDITIONAL UNFUNDED MANDATES ARE ADOPTED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA g WHEREAS, the current economic crisis has placed cities under incredible financial pressure and caused city officials to reopen already adopted budgets to make painful 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 's WHEREAS, since the early 1990s the state government of California has seized over $8.6 billion of city property tax revenues statewide to fund the state budget even after deducting public safety program payments to cities by the state; and WHEREAS, in FY 2007-08 alone the state seized $895 million in city property taxes statewide to fund the state budget after deducting public safety program II„ payments and an additional $350 million in local redevelopment funds were seized in FY 2008-09; and i WHEREAS, the most significant impact of taking local property taxes has been to j reduce the quality of public safety services cities can provide since public safety j comprises the largest part of any.city's general fund budget; and ' WHEREAS, in 2004 the voters by an 84% vote margin adopted substantial constitutional protections for local revenues, but the legislature can still "borrow' local property taxes to fund the state budget; and WHEREAS, on May 5 the Department of Finance announced it had proposed to j~ the Governor that the state "borrow" over $2 billion in local property taxes from cities, counties and special districts to balance the state budget, causing deeper cuts in local public safety and other vital services; and WHEREAS, in the past the Governor has called such "borrowing" proposals fiscally irresponsible because the state will find it virtually impossible to repay and it would only deepen the state's structural deficit, preventing the state from balancing its budget; and i WHEREAS, the Legislature is currently considering hundreds of bills, many of which would impose new costs on local governments that can neither be afforded nor sustained in this economic climate; and CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2009-25 Page 2 of 4 5 WHEREAS, state agencies are imposing, or considering, many regulations imposing unfunded mandates on local governments without regard to how local agencies will be able comply with these mandates while meeting their other responsibilities; and WHEREAS, the combined effects of the seizure of the City's property taxes, increasing unfunded state mandates, and the revenue losses due to the economic downturn have placed the city's budget under serious fiscal pressure; and WHEREAS, our city simply can not sustain the loss of any more property tax funds or to be saddled with any more state mandates as they will only deepen the financial challenge facing our city; and WHEREAS, a number of the City's financial commitments arise from contracts, including long term capital leases and debt obligations which support securities in the public capital markets, that the City must honor in full unless modified by mutual agreement of the parties. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE DOES HEREBY RESOLVE, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City will experience a severe fiscal hardship if the recommendation of the Department of Finance to "borrow" $2 billion of local property taxes is supported by the Governor and the Legislature; and f SECTION 2. The City Council strongly and unconditionally opposes the May 5 proposal of the Department of Finance and any other state government proposals to borrow or seize any additional local funds, including the property tax, redevelopment tax increment, and the city's share of the Prop. 42 transportation sales tax; and SECTION 3. The City Council strongly urges the state legislature and Governor to suspend the enactment of any new mandates on local governments until such time as the economy has recovered and urges the state to provide complete funding for all existing and any new mandates. CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2009-25 Page 3 of 4 SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall send copies of this resolution to the Governor, our state senator(s), our state assembly member(s) and the League of California Cities. This Resolution shall take effect from and after the date of its passage and adoption. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 26th day of May, 2009, by the following vote: AYES: Mayor Robert E. Magee, Mayor Pro Tern Melissa Melendez, Councilmember Amy Bhutta, Councilmember Thomas Buckley, Councilmember Daryl Hickman NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None r abbertagee, Mir City of Lake Elsinor ATTEST: D \ora.Thomsen; City Clerk City of Lake Elsinore fjPP)OVEDNAS, O F M: B bara Zei cyLeibold, City Attorney City of Lake Elsinore CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2009-25 Page 4 of 4 I STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE SS CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE I, Debora Thomsen, City Clerk of the City of Lake Elsinore, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 2009-25 was adopted by the City Council of the City of Lake Elsinore, California, at a regular meeting held on the 26"' day of May, 2009, and that the same was adopted by the following vote: AYES: Mayor Robert Magee, Mayor Pro Tern Melissa Melendez, Councilwoman Amy Bhutta, Councilman Thomas Buckley, Councilman Daryl Hickman NOES: None ABSENT: None I; I ? ABSTAIN: None Debora Thomsen, CIVIC, Ciq-Clerk City of Lake Elsinore, California'.'(. I: I;