Dear Mayors and Supervisors,

This is a follow up concerning some of the questions that were raised last week regarding the state budget. The League will continue to assess the Governor's state budget proposal and its impacts on local government.

FOLLOW UP FOR SOLANO 4CS MEMBERS ON THE GOVERNOR'S JANUARY STATE PROPOSAL

PROP. 84 AND PARK CLOSURES: There are funds available to purchase park lands in Prop. 84. However, questions remain concerning whether or not cities will be able to use park bond money for the purchase of parks slated for closure. It should also be noted that a park closure doesn't mean that the park won't open up again in the future. It just means that there will be no public access.

It is also important to note that the deferred maintenance backlog for state parks is about $1 billion and that Prop. 84 cannot be used for this purpose. So the option the Governor had when developing his budget was to take what little money was left and spread out among all parks and risk dirty facilities, unclean trails or other hazards or close up some parks and more adequately fund deferred maintenance projects in others.

Partnerships with local governments will be encouraged: If a local government has the means to pick up coverage of the parks, then the state is open to that discussion. However, would that require a local government purchasing the park at fair market value? Local governments also need to consider whether they're willing to assume all the costs involved in maintaining the park - deferred maintenance, public safety, etc....

Park closures and public safety: Concerns have been raised about local governments' backfilling public safety services in the areas where state lifeguard services are slated to be discontinued. The impacts in question will largely depend on the existing relationship between the state and city and/or county in the area.

We also need to consider whether or not these cuts will really happen: This is the Governor's January budget proposal and, therefore, just the beginning. I suspect that the Democrats will take issue with the park closure proposal, but we will know more as discussions continue.

To find the list of parks proposed for closure, please visit: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/BudgetSummary/FG-RES-01.pdf

FLOOD PROTECTION: Proposition 84 and Prop. 1E: Both have coverage for flood projects. I believe there's about $100 million for levee projects. There's also money for flood safe projects. I will continue to research this and get more information to you.

DELTA VISION: The Delta Vision process will not be affected by the budget. Most of the money is coming from private funders or proposed to be supplemented by available Prop. 84 funds. Stakeholders are going forward with a strategic plan this year. The state is paying close attention to the process as it will have reverberations statewide.

PRISONER RELEASE: So far it's been proposed (including prior to the budget release) that to help balance the budget the state will release 22,000 low-level offenders from prison . In addition, low-risk parolees may be let off of parole early to save the state money due to committing fewer resource s to tracking parolees.

The League does not presently have a position on this issue, but we are hearing that some law enforcement groups, as well as Republican legislators do not think it is a good idea to let criminals out early. They argue that it will cost more in the long run, as locals will have to deal with more monitoring, likely more arrests, and the possibility of sending many former prisoners back to prison.