Number crunchers calculate what it will take from local government to re-patch the state budget.
After every major earthquake or hurricane, auditors inevitably step in to assess the cost of the damage. Now it’s our turn.
Figures just released by [url=http://www.sacbee.com/1098/story/2048655.html]the Sacramento Bee calculate how much counties, cities, and local redevelopment agencies across the state will pay to cover the $3.7 billion that the state wants to balance its own budget. In Santa Cruz County, that sum comes to $27,549,457. Of that, about $16 million comes directly from the County and its Redevelopment Agency, with municipalities and their redevelopment agencies accounting for the rest. The City of Santa Cruz will be strapped with a bill of $1.28 million, while the Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency will owe $3.8 million.
While the figures note that some of these lost funds will be offset by local governments’ ability to borrow lost property tax revenue against the state’s promised repayment of the funds, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that some 12,000 properties owners will be receiving a break on their property tax assessment this year. While the county has factored the decline in property tax revenues in its new budget, it did not consider the amount of money that the State is now claiming. Property taxes account for some 20 percent of the budget for most local governments. the Sacramento Bee, the Santa Cruz Sentinel and The Mercury News.
