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The Struggle to Survive April 2003
Since Governor Davis unveiled his budget plan to balance the state’s $35 billion deficit, legislators and district officials have put their proposals on the table hoping to make a dent in the mammoth budget shortfall. For Alameda County, the governor’s decision has taken $16 million dollars out of their discretionary budget. Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson went to Sacramento two weeks after the governor announced his budget plan in January. “When I left Sacramento, I was very depressed. More so than I was in the years past because our county has to cut up revenues that we had in the past,” said Carson. “We are now down to the bone. Based on what I heard, they [the administration] are going to bury that bone.” Alameda is not alone. Other urban counties like San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Contra Costa are hurt on multiple levels. In addition to cutting funding to local governments, the governor proposed to shift fiscal responsibility for health and human services to counties that can’t raise enough money to fund quality care. Part of the added cost to counties would be offset by increased sales taxes. Carson called that a shell game. “Sales tax is not a reliable form of funding. People who are unemployed can no longer afford to buy. On the contrary, they are going to ask the public sector to assist them during this transitional period. The governor is doing a shell game on us.” The proposed budget has $2.50 in cuts to programs and services for every $1 in increased taxes. That is not a balanced solution. We want a balanced solution that includes $1 in tax revenue for every $1 in cuts to services. State Assembly Majority Leader Wilma Chan has introduced Assembly Bill 4, which would re-instate higher tax rates for the state’s top earners. She strongly believes that county funding must be stabilized before realignment can be considered. “We need to work with counties to see what programs might make sense to transfer to the local level and determine whether current funds are sufficient to meet growing caseloads and costs,” said Chan. The way things are now does not give local governments tools to generate revenues to fund programs. Under the double weight of cuts and realignment, district officials are crying out for reform or the state’s fiscal policies. It goes back to Proposition 13 in 1978, which severely cut property taxes and required a two-thirds vote of the legislature to raise taxes. The two-thirds vote requirement is an obstacle to passing the state budget. Last year a majority of legislators supported a tax increase to close the budget gap. But a handful of legislators were able to block it. This year, the minority of legislators are threatening to hold the budget process hostage again, putting needy Californians in jeopardy. SEIU Locals are working to register voters and sign up voters with ballot measures. We must make the rules in Sacramento fair and raise funds for quality services that Californians want and need. The magnitude of this crisis requires labor organizations, students, local governments, and special interest groups to lobby as a coalition.
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