By Khalida Sarwari
San Jose participated in a statewide effort to submit a combined 1.1 million signatures to county election offices today to qualify a measure on the November ballot that would stop the state from borrowing local government funds.
At a news conference at City Hall this morning, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and other local elected officials announced that of the 1.1 million signatures, 217,000 were collected in the Bay Area, and 62,000 signatures were collected from voters in Santa Clara County.
“We need a lot of help from the people to protect their services,” Reed said. “The state of California is a pretty tough opponent.”
The Californians to Protect Local Taxpayers and Vital Services coalition is composed of local government, transportation, business, public safety, labor and public transit leaders who claim the state takes, diverts or borrows money from local government, transportation and public transit funds by creating loopholes.
Mountain View Councilman Mike Kasperzak said state politicians have borrowed $2 million from the city’s general fund, despite the city’s $5 million budget deficit. He said to bridge the gap, the city has had to lay off employees and cut back on funding for local nonprofit organizations, safety surveillance and police and fire services.
Proponents of Local Taxpayer, Public Safety, and Transportation Act of 2010 claim that, if passed, the measure would prohibit the state from borrowing local government property, gasoline, parcel and sales and other locally imposed taxes.
The measure would also prevent the taking, borrowing or redirecting existing funding for public transit or raiding or shifting redevelopment funds to other state purposes.
The coalition submitted the signatures to county election offices in San Jose, as well as in San Diego, Fresno and Santa Ana to qualify the measure for the November ballot. State law requires 694,354 signatures to qualify a constitutional amendment for the statewide ballot.
After the counties validate the signatures, they will turn in the results to the secretary of state, who will have until June 24 to certify the measure.