Politics & Government

CIty Council Plans Resolution Denouncing State Actions

Suisun City Council members, long frustrated by what the call state raids on local government, are passing a resolution formally denouncing Sacramento's actions going back to the 1990s

Frustrated by sending local money to Sacramento, and now the possibly shut down of the redevelopment agency, Suisun City Council members plan to formally denounce the state tonight in tandem with finalizing the scheduled payment of more than $1 million to keep its redevelopment agency alive, but precluded from entering into new deals.

The full text of the resolution is below. Patch asks: What do you think of the city's plan to denounce the state? Is their anger justified?

 

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RESOLUTION NO. 2011-___
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUISUN CITY
DENOUNCING THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR STRIPPING THE CITY OF
BASIC TAX REVENUES AND SPENDING AUTHORITY REQUIRED FOR
PROVISION OF CORE SERVICES TO LOCAL TAXPAYERS

WHEREAS, the City of Suisun City (the “City”) was incorporated on October 9, 1868,
as the 30th city of the State of California (the “State”); and

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WHEREAS, the City has consistently provided municipal services for its residents
through prudent expenditure of taxpayer funds, including reliance on the service of the
volunteer Suisun City Fire Department for the past 150 years; and

WHEREAS, the voters of the State approved Proposition 13 in June of 1978, that
restricted the ability of local government to raise necessary funds for core services by
increasing property taxes; and

WHEREAS, the voters of the State approved Proposition 4 in November of 1979,
establishing the Gann Limit to further limit State and local governments’ ability to fund services
through proceeds of taxes; and

WHEREAS, local government has consistently adopted balanced budgets that are
dramatically below that limit, including Suisun City’s FY 2011-12 Annual Budget that is 69.6%
below the voter-approved Gann Limit; and

WHEREAS, the State has routinely exceeded the voter-approved Gann Limit as it has
failed to control its expenditures; and

WHEREAS, the State Legislature and Governor have, rather than curtail or control
State budgets and spending, habitually borrowed, purloined, extorted, or otherwise diverted
billions of dollars in local property taxes which would otherwise have been used to fund local
police, fire and paramedic response, and other vital local services; and

WHEREAS, since the early 1990’s, the State has taken $93 billion from agencies
statewide to backfill the State’s obligation for education funding; and

WHEREAS, the State Legislature and Governor have sought to take and borrow
billions of dollars in Gas Tax revenues that voters dedicated to ongoing transportation projects
and tried to use them for non-transportation purposes; and

WHEREAS, the State Legislature and Governor have taken billions of dollars of local
community redevelopment funds on numerous occasions to use them for unrelated State
purposes; and

WHEREAS, the State Legislature and Governor have taken billions of dollars from
local public transit, including bus, shuttle, light-rail, and regional commuter rail to use these
funds for unrelated State purposes; and

WHEREAS, the continued raiding and borrowing of revenues dedicated to funding
local government services and transportation projects is causing severe consequences, such as
layoffs of police, fire and paramedic first-responders, abandonment of economic development,
public transit fare increases and cutbacks in public transit services; and

WHEREAS, in 2009 alone, the State Legislature and Governor created a program that
diverted $5.7 million from Suisun City to pay State education obligations. That amount equals
what would be needed to resurface 40% of the City’s streets, or what would be needed to
operate the entire Police Department for more than one year; and

WHEREAS, another $1.2 million was taken in 2010, and the State is trying to take
another $4.5 million from Suisun City this year. Suisun City cannot continue to subsidize the
State, while attempting to sustain basic municipal services to its residents and remain solvent’
and

WHEREAS, State actions coupled with a weak economy have forced the City to
reduce its budget by 30% in the past four years, with another 12% reduction required by recent
State action against the Suisun City Redevelopment Agency; and

WHEREAS, State politicians in Sacramento continually ignore the will of the voters,
including the November 2010 passage of Proposition 22 that specifically prohibited the State
from further diverting, seizing or forcing relinquishment of local revenues, including
Redevelopment Agency tax increment; and

WHEREAS, the State Legislature and Governor blatantly subverted the will of the
people by callously and maliciously abolishing Redevelopment Agencies in an extraordinary
session for the sole purpose of seizing local assets for redistribution to other taxing entities;
and

WHEREAS, at a time when enhanced economic development is needed to bring the
economy out of the worst recession since the Great Depression, the State Legislature and
Governor eliminated the most effective tool to stimulate economic development statewide:
Redevelopment; Redevelopment Agencies statewide generate 300,000 private sector jobs
annually; and

WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Suisun City can no longer stand by while
State politicians continually undercut the authority and ability of locally elected officials to use
local tax revenues to provide City services demanded by local taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, the State’s continual usurpation of local control of taxation and spending
authority is an affront to the traditions of the American people and residents of the State of
California.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of
Suisun City does hereby denounce the State Legislature, Governor and other Constitutional
Officers for systematically stripping the City of basic taxation and spending authority most
properly residing with City government; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council does hereby denounce the State
for routinely failing to live within its means, contrary to what it mandates that the City and all
other local governments must do.

PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Suisun City held on this 6th day of September, 2011 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers:
NOES: Councilmembers:
ABSENT: Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers:
WITNESS my hand and the seal of said Agency this 6th day of September, 2011.


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