Pomona : ‘March on Sacramento’

Mayor Donna Smith has started a campaign to enlist other cities in a “March on Sacramento” to resist proposals in the Legislature to divert tax funds from cities to balance the state budget.

In letters distributed to city managers and mayors in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, Smith urged a united battle to preserve city funding sources. Calling them “thugs,” she said legislators are considering a variety of funding proposals damaging to cities.

Pomona alone could lose $10 million a year, she said.

Pomona City Administrator Julio Fuentes submitted a $155-million budget to the council this week that maintains city services at current levels. But he warned that if the state reduces the city’s revenue, service reductions and layoffs will be required.

“There isn’t any fluff in the budget. It’s bare-bones,” Fuentes said.