Save YOUR City!

California used to be “the Golden State” but now it’s called “the Sorry State.”  The deficit is now projected to grow to $24.3 billion through June 2010.

The League of California Cities launched a website, “Save Your City,”  asking for videos that will show how a state “raid” of local property taxes would affect people throughout the state. “Your city is in trouble,” the site flashed.

Largest Cuts to be made:

*Welfare (completely wiped out) eliminating welfare for 521,000 families who now receive $526 average monthly grants and terminating health coverage for nearly 1 million children
*Medi-Cal coverage for dialysis and for breast and cervical cancer treatment for those over age 65 would be cut. Undocumented immigrants would lose nonemergency health care.
*College & University Budgets (stop college fee assistance for thousands of students/phase out a college aid program)
*In the prisons, rehabilitation, education and vocational programs would be hacked. So would the sentences of nonviolent, nonserious offenders, who would go free a year early. 

*The elimination of $70 million in funds for the state park system.

*Laid off 5,000 state government employees

Who will be affected?
*EVERYONE, but mostly the poor, the disabled and children.
*Aids Patients’ would pay MORE for meds
*Alzheimer’s patients will not get this in-home service that they deserve
*The CalWorks welfare program 
*The Healthy Families program for children’s healthcare (930,000 children)
*Students
*Educators
*City Workers
*State Workers
*Small Businesses (Less $$$ = no one buying at their business)
*Police
*Fire Services
*The elderly
*The disabled
*Need I go on?

Surprisingly spared the ax — so far, anyway — were the state’s battered K-12 schools. Though they represent California’s single biggest budget expense, the governor proposed no new cuts on Tuesday.

AMONG THE PROPOSED CUTS

Here are some of the dramatic cuts Gov.  Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed Tuesday:
 CalWORKS welfare program

• $1.3 billion
• $1.8 billion

Reduce drug and vocational rehab programs for prisoners

• $789 million
• $914 million

Borrow gas tax revenues from cities

• $744 million
• $745 million

Reduce UC and CSU budgets

• $335 million
• $335 million

Cut Healthy Families insurance program for poor children

• $248 million
• $322 million

Phase out Cal Grants for college students

• $173 million
• $450 million

Commute sentences of nonviolent offenders one year early

• $121 million
• $0

Cut all General Fund money for state parks

• $70 million
• $143 million

Cuts to MediCal insurance program for the poor*

• $34 million
• $58 million

Also visit….

 

 

Jill’s Editorial:

What will happen?  (Jill’s Prediction)

By eliminating welfare and programs for the poor (mostly new or undocumented immigrants), many will leave the state or return to their home country if they are not provided services. 

Schools will have LOWER enrollment and less revenue.  As a result, even MORE employees at the schools will be let go.  If more people are let go, then there’s less people out there BUYING in California which will hurt the small businesses who are barely making it as it is.

Less people will be buying homes and really the only people who will be able to afford to live in this state will be those who have aleady made their millions or have saved up for a rainy day + all the celebrities who I don’t see donating to California causes (if you are, forgive me, but I don’t see many doing it).

So, hang on everyone, the ride is going to get bumpier.  Remember, if you are a CalPers or a Cal Strs employee, you cannot switch to a job that pays into SOCIAL SECURITY without losing 2/3 of it when you retire.  Please read (below)…click on the banners.

 

About Save Your City

California Cities today is launching http://www.saveyourcity.net/ as a unique and innovative platform for mayors, city council members and concerned members of the public to tell policy makers how communities will be devastated if the state forces cities to bail the state out of its budget deficit. Anyone can register on the site and submit a video. Each video uploaded to http://www.saveyourcity.net/ will automatically be sent to the Governor and the legislators of the person who submitted the video. More than 200 city officials, business and community leaders and the public have already submitted video testimony to lawmakers and the Governor.

Since 1991, state officials have taken over $10 billion in local property taxes to meet state obligations, currently costing cities over $900 million each year. Now state officials are considering forcing local governments to “loan” the state $2 billion in local property tax revenues to help close the state’s budget deficit. This type of borrowing binge to fund today’s budget is part of what got California into its budget mess in the first place. It needs to be stopped if we ever hope to have a responsible budget.

Cities are facing the same economic stress as the state and have already made incredibly difficult budget cutting decisions to layoff employees, implement furloughs, and slash vital local services, including public safety, youth recreation and senior services. The proposal to use local property taxes to fix the state’s budget woes will threaten the safety of every Californian.

Visitors to www.SaveYourCity.net will find an interactive forum where they can search for videos relevant to their local community. The Web site also features a form for groups wanting to join the Save Your City Coalition and a tool kit with fact sheets for how budget cuts will affect the affordable housing community, public safety, the environment, labor, builders and business.

“The League is working on every level to protect vital city services for the millions of Californians who live in cities. We’ve taken Save Your City to the Web because we know how important it is to reach the public with information about threats to their communities. This site is a powerful tool that gives people worried about cuts to city services a way to talk about the real impact a state raid would have on their community,” said League Executive Director Chris McKenzie.

In addition to the Save Your City Web site, the League has also launched a page for Save Your City on Facebook where fans can get the latest updates on the campaign and network with others who are concerned about the devastating impact a state raid of local property tax revenues would have on their city services.

Established in 1898, the League of California Cities is a nonprofit statewide association that advocates for cities with the state and federal governments and provides education and training services to elected and appointed city officials.

Source: Cloud Computing Journal