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GLORIA PENNER (Host): Early this morning the California State Senate voted to approve bills
that would close to state's $26 billion budget gap,
as we taped this program the assembly is still voting, the state has a long way to go
to get back on it's sound fiscal ground.
But local governments are also wondering how they'll shoulder the burden
of the state's budget problems on their already crippled backs.
Joining me to talk about the local impact of the state budget deal are Tony Perry,
San Diego Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times and Tom York,
editor of the San Diego Business Journal.
Tom let me start with you, what kind of impact will the state budget deal have on San Diego?
TOM YORK (San Diego Business Journal): Well it looks like the state government is going to take
up to a $105,000 from the City of San Diego and this is after the city has spent the last couple
of years severely cutting it's budget to match the reduced revenues because of the
down economy, so this is going to put a severe burden on the city although there is some talk
that the city can go out and borrow the money but then that's a cost benefit ratio;
if they borrow the money will they get repaid -- which the state has promised to do.
PENNER: So he said severe, severe impact on the city but what are we talking about?
What are the services?
Or what are the programs that are going to take the hit?
TONY PERRY (Los Angeles Times): Well Jerry Sanders has pointed towards street repair
which is dear to all of our tires but he has also warned
that we can have police and fire cut-backs.
Remember police and fire are the major part of the city budget and you can't cut too much,
too far without going to public safety.
Sanders and a whole bunch of other mayors and supervisors state-wide,
are talking about litigating with the state Legislature to stop what Ron Roberts,
a supervisor here in San Diego, what he calls theft,
he says what they are doing is stealing our money.
PENNER: $100 million is what Jerry Sanders predicts could come
out from redevelopment agencies, property gas tax, but one councilman said
that this would seriously impact San Diego quality of life.
Was that an exaggeration or will we actually feel it?
PERRY: I think we will feel it.
I think we've cut all the frills -- now will we feel it
so we can no longer survive and we move to Idaho?
I don't think so.
But if your firefighter is slower getting to your house, if there isn't a cop on the beat,
if we have to shut down some parks, we have to knick library hours even more,
if we leave those potholes to grow and grow, we're going to feel this.
Will it make it catastrophic?
No. PENNER: It won't?
PERRY: It'll still San Diego with wonderful weather and a lot
of amenities but it won't be what it is now.
Penner: So you're not planning to move to Idaho either?
PERRY: No, I'm not.
PENNER: No.
But he's saying, you know, it's not going to be catastrophic, agree?
YORK: Well, you know I think there's a lot of question marks.
First of all there's this unfunded liability issue with the city pension plans,
and the city has been trying to make up putting more money into the pension plans to make
up for the fact that there's a shortfall down the line.
This could have an impact.
So it could impact more than just the current crop of employees,
but employees that will be retiring in the future.
PENNER: So I don't know whether our local officials are just sort
of saying the right thing, but they say they're going to fight it.
How are they going to fight this?
YORK: Well I don't think it's going to work.
They're going to be fighting it after the fact.
It might take months if not years to litigate this in the courts,
and it's just a full employment plan for lawyers.
PENNER: How can they fight this?
How can we even brace for these cuts?
PERRY: Well I think the theory is that that is not Sacramento's money, that's local money
that somehow got to Sacramento because of the sainted Prop 13.
We fought this before.
The San Diego County government litigated for years with Sacramento after Prop 13,
claiming San Diego was getting shorted.
I don't remember that being particularly successful.
I don't see litigation.
If there's anything worse than government by ballot measure, it's government by litigation.
PENNER: Feels like a band aid though.
Tom York, it feels like a band aid, is it bound to get worse next year?
YORK: It depends on where the economy goes.
As I have described it in past columns, this whole budget is set up on a wing and a prayer
and the wing and a prayer is that the economy is going to get better next year.
There's no certainty of that.