State budget crisis and effect on City of Sonoma

Residents may be curious about the State's current budget crisis and its effect on your local government. Here is a brief update of what we know so far.

Two weeks ago, the Senate Budget Committee voted to move forward with emergency cuts to the State budget including the borrowing of Highway Users Tax (HUTA) from local governments for five months. The impact to the City of Sonoma: $83,845 total; $34,738 of which would be in the current fiscal year. We feel this is a budgetary impact we can absorb at the present time without service reduction. The funds would be repaid to the cities in September 2008.

The current proposal from the State Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) also includes a shift of the cities’ share of Proposition 172 funding to partially pay for a realignment of parole programs from the State to Counties. Proposition 172 is the Public Safety Sales Tax. The shift (take-away) from Sonoma would be approximately $117,000.

The LAO’s proposal also includes a proposal to eliminate the Citizens Option for Public Safety (COPS) program, which for several years now has provided the City with $100,000 to supplement our general fund revenue which sustains our Police Department.

The total impact of these two new proposals from the LAO would amount to $217,000, not counting the holdback in HUTA funds of $83,845. We are monitoring the State’s budget situation as various proposals are made and analyzed by the League of California Cities. The League serves as an advocate and lobbying arm for all of the cities collectively in the State.

The City Council will hold its mid-year budget review at its regular meeting of March 19, 2008, and if any of the State’s budget reduction proposals move closer to being adopted, we will provide any updated information at that time.