However, simply moving massive programs from one place to another may not produce the cost reductions that are part of the proposal.
And the Los Angeles county supervisors have said as much.
At a hearing of the Assembly’s Budget Committee, four of the five supervisors voiced their concerns that the proposal will leave Los Angeles further struggling to provide services and a balanced budget.
In the short-term, there is no guarantee that the additional funding the Governor has promised would fully cover the cost of the transferred programs. Long-term budget implications would be amplified when the temporary taxes expire.
Other Los Angeles officials voiced their opinions as well, and the District Attorney had even sharper criticisms.
If Los Angeles is facing these problems, one could accurately assume that others will as well.
From the Los Angeles Times:
At a special hearing Friday to air concerns about Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to shift responsibilities to the counties, Los Angeles County officials told state lawmakers they wanted to help cut California’s deficit but had serious questions about the bottom line.
If Brown’s plan is enacted, county officials estimate they would assume $1.4 billion in additional program responsibilities beginning this year. They said the county – which currently operates with a $24.2-billion budget – would not have the money or program expertise to absorb certain elements of the plan so quickly.
Four of the five county supervisors spoke at the hearing called by the state Assembly’s Budget Committee, chaired by Bob Blumenfeld, (D-Van Nuys). All seemed to agree that the governor’s plan did not appear to offer sufficient funding for the programs the county would be asked to take over.
Read the full article here.