Assemblywoman to Hear Cities’ Budget Woes

Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) is scheduled to meet this week with representatives of the cities in her district to talk about the effects of state cutbacks on local governments.

Hosted by the Fountain Valley City Council, the meeting will be at 10 a.m. Friday at City Hall, 10200 Slater Ave. The public is invited to attend.

“The whole purpose is to show what impact the state budget has on local finances,” Fountain Valley City Manager Raymond H. Kromer said.

Kromer said cities are losing millions of dollars in revenue so the state can balance its own budget. Fountain Valley alone has lost more than $2 million in the last two years and expects $1.3 million in property tax revenue to be taken away this year.

“Our argument has always been that when they take the money, you still have to provide the service at the local level,” Kromer said. “And the local citizen is now paying twice for the same service.”

Mayor Laurann Cook said it is critical for city officials to be involved and voice concerns to legislators about their losses in revenue.

“We’re asking them to not continue to look for cities to balance their budget,” Cook said. “The state needs to look at other ways for revenue. They need to trim the fat from their budgets just as the cities have done with theirs.”

Representatives from the cities of Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Buena Park, La Palma, Cypress, Stanton, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Long Beach, Midway City, Westminster, Santa Ana and Anaheim are expected to attend Friday’s meeting.

The meeting is being coordinated by the Orange County Division of League of California Cities.

The league is organizing a grass-roots lobbying strategy to make legislators aware of the effects of the cuts to cities and their losses in services to residents. In addition, the league wants to send the message that Orange County cities oppose the state Legislature’s using local government revenue to balance the state budget.