City fights state for funds

Corning is joining forces with the League of California Cities to fight the state’s proposed transfer of local funds.

City Councilwoman Becky Hill asked the council to support a resolution authorizing the city to cooperate with the league should a lawsuit be filed challenging the constitutionality of the state’s withholding of street maintenance funds.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the council, states that since the early 1990s the state has seized over $10 billion of city property tax revenues statewide, now amounting to over $900 million each year to fund the state budget.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to transfer $1 billion of local gas taxes and weight fees to the state’s 2009-10 general budget fund. City Manager Steve Kimbrough said Corning is set to lose $68,000 in state traffic congestion relief act funds and $62,000 in gas tax funds.

“This would be in addition to our current shortfall of $726,000,”  Kimbrough said. “It would pretty well gut our public works department.” The city’s proposed 2009-10 general street maintenance budget is $162,500.

If the governor follows through with his proposal it will jeopardize the ability of cities throughout the state to maintain streets, bridges, traffic signals, streetlights, sidewalks and related traffic safety facilities for the use of the motoring public, according to the resolution.

Cities and counties maintain 81 percent of the state road network while the state directly maintains just 8 percent, according to the League of California Cities.

“Taking of street maintenance funds will do nothing but hurt cities, counties and the state as a whole,” Kimbrough said.

The resolution authorizes the city attorney to take all necessary steps to cooperate with the league in litigation against the state if the Legislature enacts and the governor signs into law legislation that diverts the city’s share of funding from the gas tax.

Contact Julie R. Johnson at 824-5464 or jjohnson@tcnpress.com